Fire and Light
by HikariNoTenshi-Crystal
Summary: In a world where emotions mix with adventure, Portgas D. Ace is faced with a girl named Crystal who may very well change his world forever. Darkness threatens to destroy the world, will Crystal and Ace be able to stop them while keeping their emotions intact?
1. Meet the Grandsons!

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One piece characters and its plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. OC's belong to me. **

**I'm having to revise all my chapters again, so please bear with me for a moment.**

* * *

~Foosha Village, East Blue~

I run as fast as I can trying to get as far away from that old man of a marine as I can. He said he brought me here to 'get along' with his grandsons, and to 'keep me safe'. I know this is all just a load of crap because I'm never safe wherever I go, as long as I'm alive it's never safe. As for his grandsons...well I don't see why they would want to be near me; it's Garp's job to kill me, yet he wanted to go all Captain America and try to save me from the marines to try and give me 'a normal life'. I run through the woods and stop at the edge that opens up to a gloomy place that looks like a land fill for things people no longer wanted.

"The Gray Terminal," I whisper to myself as I remember Garp pointing it out and telling me to never go in there. I smirk to myself as I jump down into the Gray Terminal and start to wander around the place.

I greet everyone I pass, and most give me a surprised and confused look. I don't blame them; if I was one of the people living here and I saw a seven year old girl with short golden hair, light sky blue eyes, in a white dress and barefooted, I would probably be surprised and confused also. Though Garp had told me that this place was dangerous and scary, I felt like I belonged here, like I belonged in this place where things that people don't want in their lives go. I can't help but feel homesick already as I reach the edge of the Gray Terminal and run into another cropping of forest, but this one with much larger and taller trees. I start to wander through this forest also, wanting to get away from Garp, but to also see new things. I freeze as voices up ahead start to argue. I creep towards the voices and listen.

"Wow! Look at all the money we have!"

"Yeah! Soon we'll be able to sail out to sea!"

"I wanna be the captain!"

"No I'm going to be the captain!"

"No! I am!"

I can't help but let out a laugh at the immaturity, but stop as they stop talking and try to find where the laugh had come from. They jump down from the tree and I look to see who they are. There are three boys: one who was about my age with short black hair, brown eyes and a scar underneath his left eye, a boy with shaggy black hair, light brown eyes, and freckles, and a boy with buzzed blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tooth missing from his smile. They start to get closer and I take the chance to climb my tree and hop across the branches to theirs.

I open the hatch they had just closed and found money, gold, and jewelry in there. "Wow! You do have a lot of money!"

The three boys dart their sight upwards to where I was and glared as I pulled out a bag of money.

"Hey that's our money!" The boy with the scar said.

"I know; I don't care about it anyway." I say to them. They watch me as I set the money back down into the hatch and close it up. "I was just curious as to how much." I twine my fingers together behind my back and stare down at them.

"Who are you?" The boy with freckles asked.

"That's none of your business," I say with a smile.

"CRYSTAL!" a booming voice yells.

I turn towards the voice and take a step back as Garp charges his way through the forest towards me. I slip off the branch and feel myself falling; I brace for impact but instead feel arms wrap around me and catch me before I can hit solid ground. I look up and see freckles looking down at me with an irritated look.

"You're clumsy," He says as he sets me down.

"Yeah, thanks." I tell him, not knowing what else to say. I smile up at him and a faint blush creeps along his face.

I open my mouth to tell him sorry about being rude, but before I can someone grabs the back of my dress and lifts me up into the air.

"I told you to never go into the Gray Terminal or anywhere away from Foosha Village!" Garp yells into my ear.

"I'm not deaf!" I yell back at him. "Besides, what's so bad about it? If anything I feel like I belong." I say with a pout causing Garp to get a stress mark.

"You're supposed to be here to get to know my grandsons, and be safe." Garp said with a sigh.

"Yeah, well I'll never be safe, and who ever said that your grandsons would even like me?" I say with hate. "They could want to kill me just like everyone else! Now, LET ME GO!"

I swing my leg upward and connect with his jaw and snap his head backwards; I use the momentum of the swing to carry my body up and I pushed on his hand to fling me farther into the air. I land on Garp's face and knock him to the floor as I jump down and onto the ground.

"Wo-hoah! So cool! You took down Oji-san!" Scar said with a smile from ear to ear as he walks around Garp.

"Oji-san?" I say confused.

"Wow! She took down Garp!" Blondie said.

"No way," Freckles says as his eyes widen and his jaw drops in surprise.

"Wait, did you say Oji-san? He's your grandpa? YOU'RE his grandsons?" I say with exasperation.

"Yeah, hey! My name's Monkey D. Luffy!" Scar says as he walks over and hugs me.

Blondie walks over and grabs Luffy off of me and flings him back. "Sabo. Just Sabo."

I nod my head trying to catch up when Freckles walks in front of me and looks me up and down. He did that about five times until he crosses his arms and sighs. "Portgas D. Ace."

"Nice...to...meet...you?" I say slowly still confused.

"How did you do that?" Ace asks as he looks at Garp.

I shrug my shoulders. "I just fought. It's how I've survived all these years." I walk over to Garp and poke his cheek. "I think I hit him too hard though." I smile as I back up and then sprint towards Garp, before I reach him I jump into the air and land hard onto his stomach.

The air rushes out of him as his eyes shoot open and he grabs my ankle and pulls it into the air.

"What is the meaning of this!" he yells angrily.

Everyone freezes as Garp yells; Garp, Luffy, Sabo and Ace redden as my dress is taken over by gravity and falls down past my underwear and stomach. Garp lets my ankle go and I land on the floor onto my feet.

"What's wrong with you guys?" I ask them.

"Crystal you have no sense of embarrassment. I told you there's a difference between boys and girls." Garp says as he covers his face with his hand.

"Yeah I know, girls have vagina's and boys have dicks." I say simply.

The boys fall over as I said it and Garp slowly gets back up. "This is another reason why I'm leaving you with the boys. Hopefully they'll somehow get the difference into your head about privacy." Garp says. "Now let's go, I still have to introduce you to DanDan."

I shrug my shoulders and follow after Garp. A while later we make it to a little house up on the hill overlooking Foosha Village.

A big woman with orange hair, brown eyes and short legs walks out with a cigarette in her mouth and a glare in her eyes.

"She's the girl?" She asks.

"Crystal this is DanDan, she'll be watching you." Garp says.

"Does she know who I am?" I ask him.

DanDan squints her eyes and looks at Garp. "What does she mean by that?"

"He didn't tell you? Oh well, I guess I'll have to." I say with a glint in my eyes.

"Crystal don't te-" Garp starts to say.

"My name is Crystal Hijiri. Daughter of the infamous Hijiri family."

DanDan drops her cigarette as the shock and fear overtakes her and jumps back. "No, no, no, no, no, NO! Garp I am NOT taking care of her! She's a monster! She's a child of the devil! She deserves to die! She shouldn't be alive!" She yells to Garp.

I grip my dress and look down with sad eyes, knowing she would say such a thing, but still feeling the sting anyway. The boys had taken a step back, but as DanDan said that both Ace and Luffy got mad. Luffy because he doesn't like people saying others need to die and Ace because DanDan had said the same thing about him when he arrived. It triggered both of them as they saw me grip my dress and saw the look on my face.

"Hey take that back! That wasn't nice!" Luffy yells as he walks up to DanDan.

Ace glowers as he steps in front of me and shields me from DanDan.

"You don't understand what this child's parents have done to the world!" DanDan yells in anger.

"Exactly her PARENTS not Her." Garp says getting angry. "She hasn't done a thing."

"YET!" DanDan argues.

"Crystal hasn't done anything! Just leave her alone!" Luffy yells.

I clench my jaw and walk around Ace to Luffy. I touch Luffy's arm and shake my head. "It's okay. You don't need to defend me, she won't listen."

"But-" Luffy argues.

I shake my head at him again. "Really, it's okay. I'm used to it. I'm used to people hating me and wanting me dead." I look at DanDan and take a step towards her and she reacts by stepping backwards again. I stop and bow to her. "I'm sorry I've already caused so much trouble. I won't be a bother any longer." I straighten up and smile at Luffy and Ace. "Thanks."

Ace and Luffy knew that smile was one with major sadness in it as I walked away from everybody. I walked into the forest and just started to travel not really knowing where I was going.

~3rd person P.O.V.~

"DanDan," Garp says to her in a voice that said 'How could you do that?'.

"She's a monster Garp!" DanDan argues.

"No, she's not. Her parents are. And because of what her parents have done, everyone takes it out on her. I brought her here to try and give her a new life." Garp started. "You see, her parents hate her and want her dead, because unlike them being pure darkness, she's somehow pure light. Her parents abandoned her when she wasn't even a year old, nobody would take her in because of who she was. That little time she was with her family she started to change her siblings, they changed from dark to light because they were around her. So her two older brothers, her twin sister and later her younger brother lived with her and they took care of each other. But no matter where they went they were always hated, so they moved away from everything else." Garp got a grave expression on his face as everyone drew closer to listen. "Her parents didn't like that she took all their children to her side. They decided that she shouldn't have anyone with her, and if their children wanted her side more than theirs then they would have to die."

Many of the people gasped in realization to what was going to happen.

"They sent some people after her and her siblings and killed the only people she had. She watched as her siblings were murdered and left to lie in their own blood. She was four years old then and since then she's been wandering around alone and scared. But everywhere she went people gave her the same look you did with hatred and fear, and said to her the same things you did, along with much worse things." Garp rubbed the back of his head in remembrance. "It probably didn't help that all pirates and marines are after her because of her power. But though all this has happened to her, most people would have given up and killed themselves or gone into a dark state and eventually died, she's different, she still smiles through it all. Not once have I ever seen that girl cry, as long as she's been with me, which is two years, she has never cried."

DanDan looks down guiltily and rubs the back of her neck. "Damn, now I feel bad."

"She only wants to be accepted, heck not even that, she just wants someone to smile at her and show her kindness. There's only one person who's done that, the one who took her in when her parents threw her out. She calls him her father, but he's just someone who took her in. Took me forever to get her away from him. It was his idea to take her somewhere safe, before she gets hurt." Garp said.

"I'm going to look for her!" Luffy announced.

Ace nodded and him, Luffy and Sabo took off to search for Crystal.

~Crystal's P.O.V.~

I sigh as I try to get the events out of my head.

"Hey little girl," A deep voice says behind me.

I whip around and face a huge man with flame red hair and green eyes.

"What's a princess like you doing walking out here?" He said as he walked closer. "I saw that marine escort you into this island. You must be very precious."

I clench my jaw and take off running, but he was faster as he grabbed my arm and pulled me up. He gripped his arm around me and tightened till I couldn't breathe anymore. I black out as my lungs are deprived from air and last I heard was him saying. "Captain Blue Jam will like you."


	2. Powers Revealed

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. OC's belong to me.**

**New revised chapter. I am having to revise all my chapters, so bear with me until I can update again.**

* * *

I wake up in a dark shed with light peeking through the narrow boards and cracks. I look around and notice that I'm alone in here. I pull at my arms and feel a burn around my wrists; looking back I notice my arms are tied together with rope. I stand up and walk around the room looking for a way out of the damp, dark place.

"Where do you think you're going little princess?" The man from before said as he walked in from a door that blended into a wall.

I glare at him as he stepped closer and I pushed my back against the wall.

"Now don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you...much." He said with a smile. He lunges toward me and I rush forward and slam my head into his stomach. He doubles over onto the ground and I run through the door he had come through before.

I sneak around the corners and watch for others. It wasn't a shed I was in, but on a ship, everybody was off the ship for something and I took the chance to run off the ship with some difficulty with the ropes and arms behind my back. I run through a cave and into a dark forest; I run aimlessly before I finally reach an edge to something I finally realize. I had arrived at one of the edges to the Gray Terminal. I run into it and start to find anything I had passed before.

"Hey look! Isn't that the little girl?" A man yells.

I turn and notice a group of pirates staring at me. They smile and run towards me. I take a step back and take off running into the Gray Terminal hoping I can find somewhere to hide before they can get me.

"GOT YOU!" A large brawny man said as he grabbed the back of my dress and hoisted me up. He grabbed the ropes securing my hands and held me far enough away so I couldn't kick him.

"Let me go!" I yell futilely.

"Exactly where do you think you're going? The captain wants you for a treasure. Hey captain!" Another man yells behind him.

A man with black hair into corn rolls on the top with a scraggly smile and big body walked over. "Where was our little princess going?"

I jerk back away from the man and he smiles in pleasure at my response. He reaches his hand out and grabs the top of my dress.

"I guess we'll just have to teach you how to behave." He said. His smile faded though as I sunk my teeth down into his hand. "You little wretch!"

He threw me into a nearby wall, and before I can get back up, he back hands me across the face and kicks me in the stomach. I cough and wheeze as the air is sent out of me and feel blood drip down my chin, but slowly I push myself back up and glare at the pirates.

"Piss off," I tell them with poison dripping off every word.

"Oh, so she can fight!" The captain yells. "We'll have to change that."

He walks over to me and grabs my throat lifting me into the air and cutting off my oxygen.

"Let her go!"

I open my eyes and watch as Ace waks Blue Jam across the head with a metal pipe. Blue Jam lets me go and I drop to the floor; Ace catches me and jumps away from the pirates before they can try and grab me once again.

"Stay here," He says as he gives me a quick look over.

Luffy, Sabo, and Ace fight against the pirates with their metal pipes and do a pretty good job until more pirates show up and they are forced to retreat. Ace runs over to me, cuts my rope, and has me get onto his back. They run to where DanDan and Garp are and manage to lose the pirates on the way.  
"Ace!" Garp yells surprised, but smiles as he sees me on his back. "Crystal, are you okay?"

I nod as I get off Ace's back, but relief is short lived as the Blue Jam pirates show up from out of the trees.

"How about you give us back that girl?" Blue Jam says as he reaches the front of the group. "You can give her to us or we can take her. You decide."  
Garp steps forward in front of everybody and crosses his arms. "Neither."

Blue Jam glares and then smirks evilly as he snaps his fingers. The pirates all bring out guns and point them at Garp. "Shoot."

Every thing slows down as the bullets leave the guns. My eyes widen and I dash forward in front of Garp. "RYUUJI!" I yell as electricity shoots through my body.

A burst of wind surrounds me as the bullets are frozen mere inches from all of us. My eyes start to glow as the power surges through me and I'm lifted from the ground with a red silhouette of a dragon wraps around me, lifting me up. The dragon's eyes flash red as he awakens from his sleep.

"What the hell is that?" Blue Jam yells out.

I open my eyes back up and they turned from the light blue to the blood red of a demon's.

Blue Jam starts to tremble at the sight of Ryuuji and my eyes. "She's, s-she's, she's a HIJIRI!"

"Ryuuji," I say. The dragon moves around me and brings its head closer to me. "attack."

The pirates yell as the dragon flashes towards them. Ryuuji gets in front of the pirates and flashes his eyes. The pirates tremble in fear as Ryuuji nears closer and closer to them.

"Capture," I order him. Ryuuji whips towards the pirates and slowly captures each and every one and knocks them out. Blue Jam runs for his life towards the woods and Ryuuji wraps around him tightly almost cutting off his air supply. Ryuuji drifts towards me and stops as Blue Jam is face to face with me.

"Please! Don't hurt me! Please! I'm sorry! I didn't know who you were!" Blue Jam begs.

"I want you to leave. Leave and never come back to this island. If I find out you do harm to anyone else I will come after you." I say to him. His crew starts to wake up and freeze as they see their captain in the hold of the dragon. "Same to all of you. If I find you guys again you're going to wish you never saw us. Now leave." I finish as Ryuuji drops Blue Jam.

Blue Jam scrambles up and takes off leaving his crew. They follow suit in fear of being killed. I let my breath out and slowly start to flow down to the ground. The second my feet touch the ground Ryuuji disappears and my world starts to spin and darken. I hear Ace yell my name as I connect with the ground and the world turns black.


	3. A New Home

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. The OC's in this story belongs to me.**

**Chapter 3 of Fire and Light! Enjoy!**

* * *

~Ace's P.O.V.~

"Crystal! Oi! Wake up!" I say as I shake her shoulders.

"Ace, it's okay, she's just asleep." Garp says grabbing my shoulder. He makes a move forward towards Crystal and I unconsciously move in front of her to get in between them.

_I won't let him touch her. She said his duty was to kill her. I won't let him do that. Not while I'm alive._ I froze as I just thought about what my mind had said. _Why would I care about what happens to her?  
_

"It's okay Ace, I'm just going to lay her somewhere more comfortable." Garp said to me softly. He picks Crystal up and starts to carry her into the house. "If you're that worried about her, then you can come and sit by her."

"I don't care what happens to her."I say with a huff while crossing my arms across my chest. But as I watch Garp carry her away I can't help but feel worried about her for some reason. I push my pride back and follow after them into the house. As Garp lays her down and covers her up, I sit down and move next to her as I watch her from the corner of my eye, to make sure she's alright.

"What's wrong with her?" Sabo asks as he and the others sit down around them. Garp sighs and sits down on the other side of Crystal.

"Her energy ran out." He sighs again as everyone's faces stare at him confused. "When Crystal uses her powers, it uses up her energy until there is none left. If her power uses too much energy it could kill her."

"Then why doesn't she just not use them?" Luffy asks confused.

"Because if she didn't, we all would have had bullets in us. Crystal only uses her powers to protect those around her and herself. But every time she uses her powers she not only has to activate her powers by using energy but she has to control her power with energy." Garp explains.

"Why doesn't she just let it take control?" Sabo asks.

"Because if she does it would kill us all. Her power is a dragon that lives inside of her, and her dragon was made for evil, she tries to control it so it wouldn't hurt others, but it hurts her in the process." Garp answers. "Crystal's weakness is her energy depletion."

"I thought the Hijiri clans powers were like cursed fruits. I thought water was their only weakness." DanDan said as she lit a cigarette.

"That's correct. Each Hijiri has powers similar to the cursed fruits. But some Hijiri's, such as Crystal, her parents, and her siblings, have dragons as their powers; each dragon has a certain power it controls. The dragons can only control that power they have and are weakened by water unless that dragon is the water dragon, then fire is its enemy. But Crystal, when she as in our possession, showed signs of every power. No one could find out why; that's why her weakness isn't water, but energy depletion."

"It's her own fault. Her powers are still decided like a cursed fruit, you choose to have it." DanDan said arguing.

"Yes, that's true; Hijiri's do choose their powers. But for Crystal and her siblings, they had no choice whether to take it or not. The minute their born, their parents force the power into them." Garp says to DanDan getting angry; when DanDan didn't want to listen he glared. "Listen DanDan, you may not like Crystal because of who her parents are, but this girl has watched her siblings be tortured, then be brutally murdered in front of her, had people hate her for no reason, call her horrible names because of who her parents are, and be hit, thrown, kidnapped, almost assassinated, and been betrayed, yet all she has done is smile. All she wants is someone to be there for her." Garp shakes his head changing his mind. "No,she doesn't even want that, she just wants someone to smile and be kind to her."

DanDan looks down at the floor sadly, feeling guilty, as she rubs her neck.

"That's why I brought her here. So you, Luffy, and Sabo can show her there are people out there who will accept her. I can already see that she's more attached to you, Ace, than anyone so far." Garp said looking at me.

I look down at Crystal and put on a small smile as I reach down and brush her hair across her forehead.

~Crystal's P.O.V.~

I feel something brush against my forehead, I grumble and roll over onto something warm. I open my eyes and look up to see light brown eyes staring at me. I sit up fast and look at Ace as reality finally comes back to me and I realize I was lying on Ace's lap.

"Kya!" I yelp as I push myself backwards across the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I repeat. I look around the room and find everyone surrounding me. My eyes widen as I start to shake."I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie! I know you said to stay away! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me." I say as I tuck my head down and covered it with my hands.

"Hey," DanDan says softly as she reaches towards me. She stops when she sees me flinch from her hand. She looks at me sadly, feeling guilty for what she thought of me just moments ago.

"Here," a voice says above me.

I look up and find Ace with his hand outstretched to me. I reach my hand towards his tentatively and finally laid my hand on his. He smiles at me and my eyes widen at the strange reaction; he pulls me up and close to him.

"You're not scared of me?" I asked him surprised.

"You? Scary?" He lets out a small laugh. "I don't care who your parents are, you're not them."

~3rd P.O.V.~

Crystal's eyes widen at his words and he gives her another smile. She looks at his eyes waiting for them to show that he's really scared of her, butwhen there wasn't any sign to that her face brightened and she smiled up at him. A light shined around her causing everyone's eyes to widen.

"I guess your right Garp. She isn't like her parents." DanDan whispers to Garp.

They watch as Luffy runs over, stretches his arms, and wraps them around Crystal in a big hug. Sabo walked over and pats her head lightly, both causing her to jump closer to Ace, but then causing her to laugh and make everyone smile.

"Okay, she can stay, but if you drop off another kid, I'm going to have to hurt you Monkey D. Garp. I already have to deal with your two rambunctious and annoying grandsons!" DanDan says as Garp laughs.

"This girl will change what people think. She'll change Ace and those around her. For the better or worse is up to her." Garp said watching Crystal.


	4. One of the Boys

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. Oc's belong to me.**

**Enjoy! Chapter 4!**

* * *

Crystal jumps up from her sleeping place next to Ace and walks backwards. She looks for the weight that was just on her stomach and finds on the floor the body of said weight.

"Luffy!" Crystal yells as she lets out a huff of exasperation.

"I thought I'd wake you up! You were the last to wake!" Luffy said with his normal smile.

Crystal looks around the room and notices that Ace, who she fell asleep by, was now gone along with a missing Sabo.

"Where did they go?" Crystal asks as she grabs her shorts that Makino gave her and pulled them underneath Ace's shirt.

Luffy smiles an even bigger smile and grabs Crystal's hand. He tugs her outside and past DanDan as said bandit yells at him to dosome work around the house. She tries to pull out of his grasp, but nothing works as the determined boy tugs her through the Gray Terminal and into the forest. He stops underneath a tree and smiles at her.

"You are the first and only girl allowed in our awesome tree house!" Luffy says as he points up into the tree.

Crystal looks up, but doesn't find anything. She looks back at Luffy and gives him the 'what tree house' look. He thrusts his arm up again and she tries to look more closely; she follows the rope and finally sights something darker up in the leaves. Her eyes widen as she realizes that in this tree that is over 20 stories high and there is a tree house placed at almost the very top. She looks at Luffy incredulously, his smile, if possible, broadens even more as he lightly pushes her towards the tree.

"Go ahead. Climb up." Luffy says.

Crystal smiles at Luffy. "Race you up there."

Luffy smirks and flings himself up into the air using his Gomu Gomu powers.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Crystal yells at him, but smiles as she speedily climbs up the tree.

Once she reaches a nice thick branch she starts to jump from one to the other and soon they became close enough she just had to reach out her leg and walk across them. She caught up to Luffy and started to up her speed. She pushes past him and he frowns at the realization that he is being beat. They fight for first all the way up into the tree until the tree house is almost in reach. Luffy reaches out with his hand beating Crystal, when she jumps and uses Luffy's arm as a branch and jumps into the tree house.

"No fair!" Luffy says as he flings himself in.

"You cheated in the beginning using your powers. I thought that I could hold off my payback till the end." Crystal says with a mischievous smirk.

Luffy opens his mouth but shuts it knowing she's right. "That doesn't mean you're better than me at fighting!"

Crystal laughs at Luffy's pouting face and pats his head. "No, I'll leave it up to you to be a man and protect the girl."

Luffy's face beams with pride. He jumps at Crystal and hugs her causing them both to fall to the floor. "I'll protect Crystal! I'll become stronger than Sabo and Ace!" Luffy smirks at her again as she smiles up at him. "I can already beat Sabo and Ace anyway!"

"Who can you beat?" Ace asks as he comes in the light with a smirk. He sighs as he plucks Crystal up off the floor and lifts her up. She wraps her arms around his neck and smiles. "If anyone can protect her it'd be me! You're too weak to protect her."

Luffy fumes at what Ace says and threatens him once again about how one day he will be King of the Pirates and will beat Ace. Crystal laughs at their little brawl as she wanders out of Ace's grasp. Ace stops arguing as he feels her leave watching Crystal walk over to the staircase leading up to the crow's nest and climb up it.

"Crystal! Hey!" Sabo yells down at her with a smile.

"Hi!" Crystal yells back over the wind. She climbs up into the crow's nest with Sabo and gapes at the sight before her. "So pretty!"  
Ace and Luffy smile at her face beaming with light. She's been with them for a week now and each and every day she smiles more and more and every time it makes them feel warm inside to see her happy.

"How did you guys do this?" Crystal asks as she walks over to them. She trips on a loose board and Ace catches her with a proud smirk.

"Clumsy as usual." He says making fun of her.

Her cheeks puff up as she punches his shoulder. "Shut up!" Ace laughs and Crystal follows suit out of light heartedness. "Did Garp or DanDan help you build this?"

"Nope! We did this on our own!" Sabo says proud of their work. "Do you like it?"

"No," Crystal says causing all of them to stare at her in shock. She smiles at them, "I love it!"

They smile as they stare out over the landscape expanding before them. "One day we're going to sail out there! We're all going to become pirates! This ocean seems like a great place to sail on!"

"It is." Crystal says remember the one who took her in like a father. "It's dangerous and can be scary and hard, but it's beautiful and worth living out there. My daddy showed me all kinds of things out there. How to survive, how to sail, how to meet people, and most of all, how to have fun and enjoy it all! My father always lives his life to the greatest!"

"But I thought your parents hated you." Luffy says confused.

"Luffy!" Ace and Sabo yell as they punch him in the head leaving two big welts.

Crystal laughs at their protectiveness. "You're right my parents do hate me. But this daddy is the one who took me in when my real parents took everything away from me. To me he is my real parent and the other two are just people who are cruel to others."

"OH!" Luffy says understanding. "Crystal! When I become a captain, you have to join my crew!"

"What if I want her to join my crew?" Sabo says angrily.

"No! She's joining my crew! I'm the strongest of us all!" Ace says hitting them both on the head.

They start to fight each other in the crow's nest, not leaving much room to back up away from them. Crystal frowns and sucks in a breath.

"STOP!" she yells making them freeze. She composes herself again as she pats her dress for imaginary dust and smiles. "I'll join who I want when that time comes. But I can't make any promises." She points at them with a finger and smiles as she acts like she's thinking. "I guess we'll just have to see who is strongest at the time."

The boys smile at each other sending a knowing glance that the challenge was on to become stronger.

"What else do you guys have here?" Crystal asks getting bored.

"We're building a ship!" Luffy automatically yells.

Ace and Sabo punch him on the head once again to shut him up.

"Can I see?" Crystal asks with a smile.

Ace and Sabo rub their necks not knowing how to say no to the smiling girl. Ace sighs and reaches his hand out. Her smile widens as she takes his hand and they head to the cove where their ship was being built. They show her the ship and introduce her to the man who is helping them build said ship for the sea. They decide to work on the ship and spend the rest of their day out there.

As the sun heads down they decide to head back to the mountain bandits house. What they didn't know was that one of them wasn't planning on staying for long. He was planning to pack his stuff and head out to sea the next day.


	5. Sabo's Capture

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. OC's belong to me. Do not take or steal!**

**Enjoy Chapter 5!**

* * *

"Awesome! The wind keeps picking up!" Luffy shouts excitedly on the crow's nest.

"Luffy! Don't let the flag be torn off!" Ace shouts at him smiling.

"Losing your flag is the ultimate disgrace for a pirate!" Sabo adds in with a smile.

Luffy smiles as he dares the storm to blow stronger making the others join in with their taunts. As if listening to their commands the wind blows stronger and blows Luffy off of his perch on the crow's nest. He lets out a scream as he hangs onto the flag pole and his arms stretch; the others rush to the other side of the fort worried for Luffy's sake but laugh as they see the ridiculous sight of him flying around in the wind like a flag himself.

They waited till the storm was done and set off to the Grey Terminal. Ace and Sabo talked about how cool it was that they survived the storm and needed more wood now that their fort was falling apart as Luffy talked about wanting a telescope and Crystal told him that she'd help him find one making him smile in eagerness.

"It's no use, Ace! I can't find a telescope." Luffy whined as he stopped looking around in the junk.

"Luffy, why are you looking for a telescope? Go find some usable wood instead!" Ace argues.

Crystal lets out a laugh as she looks around in the junk and finds a couple of pieces of wood. Sabo found a bunch of wood that would be enough for their fort and started to head back towards the others when he spotted a telescope on the floor.

"Luffy will sure be happy," Sabo said as he looked at it.

Pirates surrounded Sabo making him look up as Blue Jam walked up filling in the gap.

"I never would have thought that the infamous four troublemakers would not only have a Hijiri, but also a noble." Blue Jam said smiling at Sabo evilly.

"Blue Jam, how do you know that?" Sabo asks him as he turns in a circle looking at the pirates surrounding him.

"Hey, now, don't hurt him." Blue Jam commands them.

Sabo tenses as a pirate lunches at him making him dodge and kick him in the face.

"You wanna fight?" Sabo yells at Blue Jam.

His answer is interrupted as Ace, Luffy and Crystal let out a battle cry as they roll down the hill in a barrel crashing into another pirate and bursting the barrel. They jump out and glare at the pirates as Sabo says their names in relief and Luffy falls over from dizziness.

"If all four of us work together, these guys aren't scary at all!" Ace says smirking at the pirates. Luffy agrees in excitement and boasts about how they took down the giant tiger making the pirates glare at them not believing what they said. "To finish the fight quickly, we just have to go for the captain!"

They grip their poles as they charge towards the pirates and dodge their attack while sending their own and landing them on the pirates. They hit the pirates with their poles and charge towards Blue Jam as the pirates were all taken down quickly. Blue Jam pulls out his gun and shoots at Ace's feet making them stop and dive for cover. Ace and Sabo hide behind a broken mast as Luffy dives to the ground and covers himself with a small board. Crystal tries to run toward a mound of metal when a pirate grabs her from behind; the others quickly realize their dilemma too late before the pirates grab Ace and Sabo and push Luffy to the floor. They struggle until the sound of boots stomping catches their attentions making their eyes widen in disbelief.

"Father…" Sabo says making the others gasp in surprise as soldiers walk up followed by a noble man with black hair and a mustache with blue expensive clothing on.

Blue Jam confirms to him how not one scratch was put on Sabo, as the pirate holding him brings him over to his father.

"I see; it must be because of these three? They led Sabo down a path of evil?" His father says eyeing them scrutinizing how they were.

"Give Sabo back!" Luffy yells at him.

His father narrows his eyes as his anger bubbles. "What do you mean 'give him back'? Sabo is _my_ child! It is the responsibility of every child to live according to the will of the parents who gave them life!" Crystal and Ace glare at the man for saying such an order as both know neither wants to follow the life of their parents. "You have some nerve lying to Sabo and convincing him to run away from home! Are you trying to steal my wealth?"

"What was that you bastard?!" Ace yells becoming angry at his argument.

The pirate holding him brings him upwards before grabbing the back of his head and slamming him into the ground.

"Ace!" Crystal yells watching as the dirt clears around him.

"Hey watch how you handle these children! You got some of this inferior filth's blood on my face!" Sabo's father said as he wiped Ace's blood off his cheek.

"Ace!" Luffy yells.

Sabo gets out of the pirates hold, arguing with his father how it was his decision to leave home, that they didn't make him do anything. This only furthered his father's anger as he signaled for the soldiers to grab him.

"I trust that you pirates will take care of the others." His father says as his face darkens.

"Of course we will, master. After all, we've received payment." Blue Jam says confirming. "Rest assured I'll finish off these three so they never bother your child again."

They grimace as they watched Blue Jam smile at them evilly.

"Father, it's alright. I understand." Sabo says unbelieving.

"What do you understand?" His father says smirking.

"Don't do it Sabo!" Ace yells from the ground.

Sabo clenches his teeth as he forces his words out. "I'll do whatever you ask of me. I'll live as you tell me to, so don't hurt these three. That's all I ask. Please they're my irreplaceable brothers."

Ace and Luffy gasp at his statement as his father orders him to come home then. Ace yells for Sabo to stop making the pirate holding him down slam his head back into the ground; that doesn't stop him as he tries to persuade Sabo to run and let them handle this making Luffy and Crystal join in to try and stop him. The soldier nudges him forward as tears slip down his face at their pleading.

"Ah, that's right." The father says stopping and looking at Crystal. "Bring her too."

"Father! You said you would leave them alone!" Sabo argues.

"You said 'brothers'. You did not say that the girl was to be left unharmed." The father says motioning his hand for the pirate to bring her over.

Crystal struggled as Ace and Luffy shouted her name and for the pirate to stop.

"After all, she would give your future a great deal of money. Her head is worth trillions." The father said imagining all the wealth that would come.

Sabo stared at Crystal pleading for her to get away, but Crystal shook her head not wanting to use her powers again. The father continued to walk once again as one of the soldiers took Crystal and followed after them. They threw Crystal into a lock up cell holding her in place until they could call the Marine's to take her away.

Crystal waited knowing that help would come soon; she knew the boys wouldn't give up on her no matter what.

"I wonder what Sabo is doing?" Luffy asks himself.

"Shut up. Go to sleep." Ace said glancing at him. "We promised to forget about Sabo for now, right?"

"I wonder if Crystal is alright." Luffy asks himself again.

Ace curls up tighter not wanting to think about what they could be doing to her.

"Sabo…Crystal…" Luffy groans out making Ace sit up and look at him ready to argue. "…telescope…"

Ace sighed as he pulled the covers back over Luffy and lied back down. He stretches his arm out and curled his fingers as they yearned to feel the warmth of the small body he had grown accustomed to sleeping by before.

Sabo ran through the streets the next day searching for where they were holding Crystal, hoping she would use her powers if it meant saving everyone from the fire that was soon to be set in the Grey Terminal. Finally he found her and let her go as he explained what was about to happen.

"No way!" She said as she covered her mouth.

"We have to hurry!" Sabo said as they raced out of the building and towards the Grey Terminal.

"There they are!" Soldiers yell as they spot the two of them.

They take off running as fast as they can, hoping to reach the Terminal before the plan begins. Sabo runs into a flowers vender making him fall to the ground; he trips again as his legs give out beneath him making the soldiers grab him.

"Go Crystal!" Sabo yells.

Crystal nods her head as she runs faster away from everyone. The soldiers bring Sabo to his father as he locks him into a closet sure that he won't get out to warn the others.

Fire erupts in the terminal causing everyone to panic; Blue Jam walks towards the gate as he waits for the nobles to open it. They tell him how they set him up as his eyes widen in disbelief and he pounds on the door for them to open it up.

Ace furiously cuts on the rope that Blue Jam bound him and Luffy by and successfully cuts it as Luffy cries about it being too hot with the flames surrounding them. Ace threatens to leave him behind if he doesn't stop whining causing Luffy to bite his lip and act as if he isn't scared. They run out of the shack and try to find a way out from the fire but end up getting lost. They run into Blue Jam and his crew as Blue Jam persuades him into giving up their treasure for their freedom, only to have him turn on them and tell them he'll kill them and make his come back to seek revenge on the nobles, even if it means taking it from kids.

Blue Jam mocks the nobles making Luffy angry as he yells at the pirates. He knocks one of the pirates letting him loose, but another pirate slashes his sword down onto his pole cutting it and slicing Luffy's forehead. He readies his sword again as Ace's eyes widen in horror.

"Don't touch Luffy!" Ace shouts as haki bursts out of his body knocking the pirates unconscious except for Blue Jam.

Blue jam looks around in disbelief at his fallen crew; he glares at Ace as he grabs his throat and slams him to the floor. He stomps on Ace as he looks at him in horror.

"You creepy brat! Do you want to make a fool of me too?" Blue jam yells at him.

"Let go you scumbag!" Ace yells struggling to get out from under Blue jams foot.

Blue jam cocks his gun as he aims it as Ace and shoots. Luffy yells for Ace as he watches the bullet fly towards his brother.

"What the?!" Blue jam yells as he backs away from Ace. He looks at where the bullet should have landed, then looks at where the bullet did land a foot away from his head.

Ace and Luffy's eyes widen as they see Crystal hanging onto Ace glowing.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Crystal yells looking up at Blue Jam with a glare. Crystal gets up as Ace sits up and looks at her in confusion.

"How did you get in here?" Blue jam asks confused. "The gates are all locked up!"

"I know!" Crystal yelled at him. "I warned you to never come here again. Now you have really ticked me off."

Crystal glows as the wind around her catches speed making the flames dance off the wood and ground and fly around her. "You want to mess with fire? You've got it." Crystal says as her eyes turn blood red and the flames lash out at Blue Jam. Blue Jam blocks her attacks as she continuously lashes the flames out at him.

She darts to the side grabbing the pole Ace dropped and charging towards Blue Jam who is looking for flames. She hits him on the side of the head making him spin and hit the floor. His anger bubbles over as she lashes his hand out and punches Crystal making her fly away from him. She tries to get up, but he walks over to her and kicks her in the stomach making her roll away from him. He grabs his gun once again and aims it at her head this time.

"You act strong, but in reality, your nothing but a little girl who tries to protect those around here. You can't even control your own power." Blue jam says. He cocks his gun as Luffy struggles to get up, but fails, and Ace stands up weakly and tries to run towards Crystal. Blue jam fires his gun as he smirks down at Crystal knowing it's too late.


	6. The Loss of a Brother

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. OC's belong to me! Don't take or steal please!**

**Review and Rate! Enjoy Chapter 6!**

* * *

Crystal lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding as Ace, Luffy, Blue Jam and herself look at DanDan surprised. DanDan grabbed Blue Jam's gun away at the last second making it shoot just next to Crystal's head.

"Stop it you sea-cretin." DanDan said angrily. "Let go of Crystal!"

DanDan swung her long axe towards Blue Jam only to have him block it with his sword, but still pushing him back with the force. Crystal rolled over onto her stomach as Ace finally reaches her and helps her sit up. The bandits run towards them relieved that they found them in time; Dogra hung onto Luffy looking around for Sabo and looking over Luffy's wounds. Ace and Crystal braced themselves as Blue Jam walked back towards all of them, one of the bandits grabs Ace and Crystal stopping them from fighting anymore.

"You're the boss monkey from Mt. Corvo." Blue Jam interprets.

"I'm the mountain bandit DanDan!" She says pointing her axe towards Blue Jam in a warning. "I don't know why, but I'm registered as their foster parent." Another bandit picks Luffy up and throws him over his shoulder. "When someone tries to take my boys' and girl's life, I won't stand by and watch even if I'm not their real parent! I'll just let you go if you back away." She looks at him with a glare as she spins her axe and grips it in her hand. The bandits also glare at him ready to fight along with their boss. "If you don't, I'll have to resort to violence."

Blue Jam stares at her in shock at such a threat, but his dropped jaw soon turns into a sly smile as he looks at all of them. "Try it,"

DanDan looks at him with a glare and takes in a deep breath. "Run!" She yells as she takes off in the other direction. The others comply to her command and follow after her running as far away from Blue Jam as quick as they can. Dogra looks back to find Ace and the bandit holding his arm still standing there as the bandit tries to persuade him to run away. Ace yanks his arm free and takes a step forward ignoring the bandit.

"I…" Ace says making Blue Jam turn his attention to him. "…won't run!"

"What are you saying Ace? Don't try to fight him!" Dogra yells at him making DanDan turn and watch with amazement as Ace stands his ground. "Blue Jam is a real villain! He's not a guy a kid like you can beat!"

Luffy tries to get out of his bandits grasp not moving an inch as the bandit tightens his grip on him. DanDan walks forward once again and slams her axe pole on the ground.

"You all, why don't you take Luffy and Crystal and go ahead!" She tells them making them look at her in surprise. "I'll take responsibility for bringing Ace home!" She commands them to go in a yell making them take off.

"Stop!" Crystal yells at them as she tries to get out of his grasp to stand next to Ace and help.

Blue Jam tells them how they won't be able to beat them by being brave, how only the strong and cowardly survive wars. DanDan and Ace look at him angrily and charge towards him making Blue Jam pull out his gun once again and aim.

The bandits ran along the Terminal as the fire flared all around them doing as their boss commanded. The fire began to trap them as they ran from one place to another trying to dodge the flames that were licking at their flesh with heat.

"I SAID STOP!" Crystal screamed as energy burst through her. Wind caught up around her and engulfed the flames as it swirled to and fro around the flames. The wind burst so strongly the bandits had to hold their ground strongly as to not fly with it and the junk in the Gray Terminal as it was ripped from the mounds and ground. The wind snuffed out the flames around them creating a path as her energy finally died and the junk was dropped to the ground everywhere in a loud crash. Crystal fell unconscious as her energy and power disappeared.

The bandits yell out for their boss as the flames engulf the rest of the Gray Terminal and they watched from safety as the flames roared high in the sky.

When morning came Luffy trudged along the wall covered in bandages from head to foot, trying to get outside so he can look for Ace and DanDan. Crystal woke up just as the bandits shouted for Luffy to stop and rest because his wounds were too heavy for him to be searching for the two. She got up and walked outside, her eyes dull and lifeless as she thought of the two being taken away from her all because some people wanted her power.

"Enough Luffy," Crystal said her voice cracking as she turned to go back inside.

The bandit watched her sadly as she went back inside and picked Luffy up as they patched him up once again and laid him down onto his bed. They surrounded him trying to explain how it's not safe yet with all the soldiers cleaning up the Terminal now that the fire was gone. Luffy cried out as he explained how Sabo risked his life so they could be free and they ruined it by helping Blue Jam. Crystal watched the ground with sad eyes as her mind unconsciously began to produce energy and send it to those around her and those she holds close to her such as Ace, Sabo and DanDan.

Sabo woke up on the side of a wall and began to walk around to see that the nobles acted as if nothing happened and continued their daily lives. The soldiers and police prowled the streets looking for him; he backed away as a group of soldiers passed, but he ended up knocking into one. They took him to his father who told him that they were killed in the fire along with the rest of the trash that needed to be taken out. Sabo couldn't believe it, he had lost his family who he had become so close to. His mind shut down as he did as his father said and began to study once again; though he kept up hope that they weren't dead.

"I'll come back tomorrow to check your homework." His tutor said as the guard let her out of the room.

Sabo put his book down and leaned back as he remembered the smiles of Ace, Luffy, and Crystal; how happy he felt when they were around; and how free he felt when he was with them in the forest. He longed to see them, but knew that if there was a chance they were alive, he'd only put them in danger by escaping from where he was.

Sabo overheard the guards talking about how the Celestial Dragons will be coming into town and how they wanted to see them so bad with the once in a life time chance. One guard complained about how he had to be stuck here with his babysitting gig and had to miss them. Sabo held his smile back as he headed to bed. The next morning Sabo began to write a letter as he sat at his desk with his hat lying upon it.

Sabo took his chance and attacked the guard and knocked him out as he ran out of the house and took a fishing boot. He sailed out to the sea, finding it the only option of keeping his brothers and Crystal safe while getting his freedom. His parents stared in shock as they knew it had to be their son sailing the boat; his father uses his binoculars to get a better look and looks up in horror as he sees his son smiling at him cockily.

"What a nice day! It's perfect for setting sail!" Sabo says lifting his hat to look up at the clear sky. His flag with an 'S' in cross bones whips in the wind as the waves carry his boat along.

Sabo looks up at the Celestial Dragon's ship with awe as the huge ship passes by without a care. He turns his ship to avoid the huge one as cheers sound from the port of the Celestial's arrival. His ship was not left undetected as a Celestial Dragon glared at it with hate. He grabbed his big gun and aimed it for the ship.

He snuffed at the small ship and frowned. "Commoners." Is all he says as he fires the gun and blows up Sabo's ship

Dogra yells as he puts his binoculars down from watching the Celestial Dragon's and the citizens gasp with wonder at what was going on.

"How rude is that." The Celestial Dragon says watching the ship burst into flames.

A woman screams as the others realize what has happened and shudder in fear as to the reason why they did such a thing to a small fishing boat. Sabo flaps his jacket at the fire trying to snuff it out as Dogra screams for Sabo. The Celestial Dragon reloads his gun as he takes aim for the ship once again making the man next to him gasp in horror. Sabo heard the click of the gun all too late as the attack smashed into him and his ship causing his flag to burn up, his ship to burst into flames and his hat to fly in the wind and land on the water giving no sign as to if he is alright or not.

Luffy yells at the bandits to let him go as he pushes against them to try to get through.

"I understand how you feel." A bandit says hanging onto Luffy. "But the military is at the Gray Terminal, going there in your condition is far too dangerous." Luffy tried to argue but he interrupted what he was about to say. "You saw how big the fire was! The chances they survived…" He had to stop to regain his composure of thinking of them not surviving. "Even if the chances are slim, we want to believe that the boss and Ace survived. Dogra is looking for them right now. Let's just leave it to him. This is difficult for us all Luffy."

Luffy looks at him and stops struggling finally. Crystal looks up suddenly with a gasp making everyone look at her in confusion. She grips her arms as she pulls her body into a ball and leans against the wall. The others thought it was from her imagining Ace and DanDan gone, but little did they know that she felt what happened to Sabo. Everyone goes into depression waiting for any news about Ace and DanDan until finally a bandit crashes into the room with tears in his eyes as he announces that they're back. Crystal and Luffy jump up as they rush for the door with everyone else. They jump over the group trying to push past each other to get out but ended up creating a block.

Ace walked up covered in bandages with DanDan in bandages on his back with both of them breathing heavily. The bandits quickly grab DanDan to check over her wounds; Crystal clenches her jaw hoping to stop the tears from coming out. Tears spill down her cheeks against her will as Ace looks at her with worry.

"Ace!" Crystal yells running to him and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. She begins to cry into his neck as his eyes widen in surprise. The others get the same reaction as everyone watches Crystal cry, something she never did. Ace relaxes and picks her up making her tighten her hold on him scared that if she lets go he wouldn't be there. He carries her into the house as the bandits check over DanDan and cry over her resting form.

Ace puts Crystal down telling her to stay right there next to him; he grabs a new shirt and begins to put it on when Luffy finally launches at him and hangs onto him with tears streaming down his face. He yelled at him only to have Crystal come close to him again and hang onto his arm with tears still flowing down her cheeks. The tears and reaction were normal for Luffy, but it worried him to see Crystal like this when she hasn't cried even once through all they've been through.

"Did you guys think I was dead?" Ace asks them.

Luffy begins to complain when Ace slips on his t-shirt and knocks Luffy hard on the head with his fist. "What are you crying for? Don't act like I'm dead, when I'm not, idiot!" Luffy began to cry harder as he gripped his head in pain.

"Now, now, let him be…" The bandit with the rooster gobbles said. "He's just happy. Besides it seems you worried someone a little too much." He nodded his head towards Crystal as Ace sighs and looks down at her.

He reached out and pulled her close as he patted her head in surrender. Her tears began to stop as she relaxed from worry. Ace sat next to DanDan as he brought Crystal over with him; he hated to see her cry and hated to see the trail the tears left on her cheeks. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down into his lap hoping it would calm her down; it worked as she relaxed in his arms and rubbed at her eyes. The bandits asked what had happened the night of the fire and Ace told his story to them about how they fought Blue Jam, escaped the fire with injuries and how he stole medical supplies and hid where the fire wouldn't get them as he tried to mend the wounds.

Crystal soon fell asleep in Ace's lap as the day soon passed by. Luffy went outside to occupy his time as some of the bandits stayed next to DanDan with Ace.

"Ace, back then…" DanDan said remembering Ace facing on Blue Jam. "Why didn't you run?"

"Sometimes my blood just starts rushing to my head. I feel like, if I run, I'll lose something important. Back then, Luffy and Crystal were right behind me." Ace explains tightening his grip on Crystal.

DanDan muttered in realization as she looked over at him.

"I don't know for sure, but I think that's why." He said lifting a hand to his hand and ruffling his hair. "I just know that my head was telling me to protect her from him. That I had to protect her from anyone trying to hurt her."

DanDan sighed as she remembered Garp once telling her how his father Roger never backed down from a fight. Not because he wanted to be brave, he just never wanted the enemy to get his crew. He never let the enemy get past him; how he couldn't bear the thought of someone hurting those he loved. That though Garp was a marine, he couldn't bring himself to hate Roger.

"Ace do you remember what you asked Garp before Luffy arrived? About why you should live?" DanDan asked him.

Ace looked up at her from ruffling his hair. "Yeah, I asked him if I deserved to live."

DanDan nodded her head. "He told you that that was a decision you would have to make. But he also told you that one day there would be a person more precious to you than anyone else, and that person would be your reason to live."

Ace looked at her confused, not knowing where she was going with it. "So?"

DanDan smiled as she looked at Crystal and nudged her chin toward her. "I think you found that person. Just as much as you want to protect her."

Ace looked down at Crystal understanding what DanDan was saying. He blushed then realizing what it implied. "You have to be kidding me! I-I don't think that way about her!" Ace yelled in embarrassment, waking Crystal up from her sleep.

Dogra walked up to the house as Luffy spot him and tells him how Ace and DanDan were back. Dogra walks into the house and explains what he saw to the others not knowing how to hide it now.

"You liar! Don't even joke about that!" Ace yells furious as he tackles Dogra to the floor and aims his fist back ready to punch him.

"It's not a lie, nor a joke! It was so sudden, I barely realized what had happened. I doubted my own eyes!" Dogra said under Ace's hand. "I wondered if it was just a dream or an illusion!"

"Shut up! Sabo went back to his noble born parents!" Ace yelled. "There's no way he'd sail out to sea!"

"That's right! Sabo went home…" Luffy argued with Ace.

Crystal watched with wide eyes as realization hit her with the feeling she had earlier of a big hit to her whole body.

"Outlaws like us understand how he must have felt. We all have places we really don't want to go back to!" Dogra yells at him as he struggles against Ace, sits up, and pushes Ace away from him. "Do you really think he'd go out to sea if he was actually happy? Do you really think he'd fly a pirate flag and set out on his own?"

Ace shook in realization as he knew this was all true. No one moved or made a sound as Dogra's words set into all of them.

"So it's true…" Crystal said falling to her knees. "The feeling wasn't a lie. It really was Sabo." Dogra looked at her confused as he watched her body begin to shake. "I made sure to reach out my powers to all of you…to keep an eye on you…I felt Sabo disappear. I just didn't want to believe it."

Luffy began to cry as he realized Sabo wasn't happy after all; Ace crouched down and gripped his head as he thought about what Sabo had said about him being alone even with parents.

"Where is the person that killed Sabo?! I'm gonna murder him!" Ace said grabbing Dogra's collar. Dogra let out how it was the Celestial Dragons, but it was impossible to defeat them. "I'm gonna avenge his death!" Ace yells out as he grabs his pipe and runs for the door.

DanDan grabs the back of his head as she slams it into the floor. "Drop it you brat!"  
"Get off me! Don't try and stop me!" Ace says slapping her arm away and flipping over only to have her slam him into the floor again.

"You keep acting tough, even though you don't have any real strength!" She lifts him up and slams him back down in frustration. "What the hell do you think you can do now? You'll just end up dead! You'll die, and everyone will forget you by tomorrow! That's what you amount to now! It was this kingdom that killed Sabo! It was the world itself!" DanDan yelled at him lifting him up. "What can you do?! Your father's death brought on a new era! Once you become a man of his caliber, then you're free to live or die as you want!" She tosses Ace to the bandits commanding them to tie him up as Luffy cries out for Sabo with tears running down his face.

The next day Crystal walked out to Ace trying to get him from the ropes around the tree as the bandits catch her and stop her. DanDan walks up with a letter addressed to them from Sabo.

"I swear I won't run into the city. Beside that letter is address to us." Ace said looking at her.

She lets him go as he opens the envelope and reads the letter. Crystal walks along side him as they walk through the forest and she listens to him read it.

_Ace, Luffy, Crystal. I hope you weren't hurt in the fire. I'm worried, but I believe that you're safe. I'm sorry about this, but by the time you read this letter, I'll be out at sea. A lot has happened, and I've decided to set sail ahead of you guys. My destination won't be in this country, but elsewhere. There I will be stronger,_

_Ace and Crystal had walked a long ways through the forest and over the river until they finally rested on a log as Ace continued to read the letter._

_I'll become a pirate! Let's become pirates with more freedom than anyone else, and meet up again someday. The four of us. Somewhere out on the wide, free ocean…I'm sure that someday we'll meet!_

_Oh and Ace, I wonder who is the older brother between the two of us? Two eldest sons, one younger brother, and a girl we all want to protect. It might be strange, but this bond between us is my treasure. Luffy might be a weakling and a crybaby, and Crystal may be a girl who everyone is after, but he's our brother! And she's our precious treasure that we can't let anyone take! Take care of them for me! I leave it up to you to keep Crystal close, to keep her safe, and to always keep her happy! You're the only one that can do that!_

Ace didn't read the last paragraph out loud but read it to himself as they walked again. Ace tried to hold the tears back as the letter flew around in his fist; Crystal's tears were not so easily held as she let them freely flow down her cheeks and she cried out in sadness. Crystal crying out made Ace's hold break as the tears flowed down his cheeks and he cried out along with her on the edge of the cliff.

Ace eventually stopped crying and tried to coax Crystal into going back with him, but she sat on the edge of the cliff as she looked out at the sea. He knew she needed time alone and he headed back on his own. Soon dinner was held and Luffy left as he went to lie on the cliff next to Crystal. Both Crystal and Luffy recollected their memories of Sabo and the fun they all had together.

Ace walked up and breathed on his fist and knocked Luffy on the head as he ruffled Crystal's hair. Luffy grabbed his hat closer to him and Crystal fixed her hair with her eyes still on the ground.

"How long are you going to keep moping?" Ace asked them. "All the treasure we hid in the middle forest is gone. Maybe it was stolen by survivors of Blue Jam's crew, or maybe the military found it. I don't know where it is now. But that pile of loot doesn't matter anymore. Sabo and I were gonna use it. It was our pirate fund. But, in the end, Sabo didn't use it. And so, I'm not gonna bother with it either." Ace told Luffy.

Crystal got up and grabbed Ace's hand using him as leverage to reality. She knew she couldn't cry anymore; she had to be strong like her brother wanted her to.

"A-Ace…" Luffy says crying into the ground. "I want to become stronger! Stronger and Stronger!" Ace looked down at Luffy as he said this and repeated the last sentence over and over until he was content. "And then I'll be able to protect anything. I won't have to lose anyone ever again! Please…" Luffy starts. "Ace, Crystal….don't die!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ace says punching Luffy again as Crystal walks over to Luffy and pats his head. "You should be more worried about yourself than me! You're way weaker than I am! Listen up and remember this Luffy! I will not die!" Ace yells at him.

Crystal smiles knowing this is his way of cheering his brother up.

"I promise I will not die!" Ace tells Luffy as Luffy sits up still holding his hat down. "There's no way I'd die and leave behind a weakling of a brother like you! Then there wouldn't be anyone to protect Crystal!"

"Me too, I promise not to die!" Crystal says smiling at him. "But you two have to promise me some things in return!" Ace and Luffy look at her in confusion as Luffy wipes his tears and snot away. "You have to promise to live as free as you can, make your life worthwhile!" They smiled at her as they nodded. "And if in the future I lose control of my powers, you have to promise to take me down and kill me." They looked at her shocked by such a statement but they nodded knowing she wouldn't let it down until they did.

"We won't let that happen!" Ace says with a smile to her. "At seventeen we will sail out of this place!"

They all agreed as Luffy finally realizes that Ace called him weak and began to fight with him. Crystal laughed at the fight as she watched the two brothers argues over who will be strong enough to keep Crystal by their side and protect her.


	7. Out to Sea

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. While OC's belong to me. Please do not take or steal any characters.**

**R&R Enjoy chapter 7**

* * *

8 Years Later

"Ace! Crystal!" Luffy yells trying to catch up with the two running through the forest.

"Come on, Luffy!" Crystal yells behind her as she jumps across rocks sticking up in the river.

Ace laughs as he follows behind her and lands in a puddle on the other side splashing her with water and making her narrow her eyes at him jokingly.

They stop at the cliff for their usual spot to look out at the sea.

"Tomorrow is the day!" Ace says proudly as he crosses his arms.

"I can't believe eight years have already passed by." Crystal says with her hands on her hips.

"Maybe you'll see your dad again," Luffy said smiling up at Crystal as he sat on the ground cross-legged. "Too bad you won't have Ace to help."  
"I wouldn't say that," Crystal said smirking suspiciously.

"What do you mean? You still have two years till we promised to go out to sea." Luffy asked her.

"You'll see," Crystal said not willing to give up her secret plan just yet.

~Next Day~

"Take care Ace!" Luffy yells waving to Ace as the village watches behind him.

Ace stands on a small sailing ship made out of logs wearing a yellow button up shirt left undone, black shorts, black boots, and an orange cowboy hat. He gripped a green bag with zebra stripes decorating it. "Sure! So long Luffy!"

Ace looks along the cliff hoping to see Crystal, but sighs in defeat as she is nowhere in sight. Luffy does the same knowing who he is looking for. "Yeah! When I set out to sea in two years, I'll have gotten even stronger!"

"Sure!" Ace said waving his arm in the air. He started to grab the mast's rope getting ready to set sail.

"Hold it!" A feminine voice shouts. Everyone turns to see Crystal in Baggy black shorts past her knees, a blue t-shirt, with her hair up hidden under a black cowboy hat.

Ace's face lit up with excitement as he saw the one he was waiting for. Crystal smiled as she ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped off and onto Ace's boat. He stared at her with confusion as she smirked at him.

"Crystal! What are you doing?" Ace asked her with confusion on his face.

"I'm going with you." She bluntly told him.

"Crystal! You still have two more years!" Luffy complained as he tried to jump to the boat too, but was stopped by the Makino hanging on to his shirt.

"Crystal! Stay safe with Ace!" Makino said with a mischievous smile. "Ace, don't you dare try to force her to do anything!"

Luffy 's jaw dropped at her agreeing to let Crystal go, and Ace's jaw dropped at what she was insinuating by her words. He looked over at Crystal hoping that she didn't catch what Makino said.

"Oh, I don't think Ace would make me do all the work while we sail!" Crystal said.

Everyone falls over in amazement at how oblivious she still is. Though Garp sent her there so she could learn to be less oblivious, she still hasn't learned a thing. Ace shakes his head at Crystal as he thinks about how he can tell her she can't go. He opens his mouth only for her to point her finger at him.

"I AM going with you Ace. There is nothing that can stop me!" Crystal said with a joking glare. She smiled at him as Luffy pouted on the cliff. "Bye!" She waved her arm through the air.

Ace chuckled as they set off from the island.

A few hours later Crystal sat at the end of the boat watching the sea; Ace sat down next to her as he knocked her shoulder with his. "You sure you want to stick with me?"

Months have passed as slowly Ace and Crystal gathered crew mates and their own boat. Ace became known as 'Fire Fist Ace' and Crystal became known as 'Tenshi no Crystal' as they fought with any pirate and Marine out there willing to fight. Ace and Crystal became known throughout the world as big shot rookies as their bounties grew; they raised their flag with the Ace of Spades Jolly Roger.

People around the world read about Ace and Crystal, having some loathe them, Garp hating them, and a well known pirate captain find out about the rookies growing names. Ace achieved the Mera Mera No Mi with its fire ability.

"Ace!" Crystal whined. "Why do we have to trudge through the freezing cold like this?"

"Because I have to thank someone!" He told her with a smirk as he held his hat down. "Red Haired Shanks!"

Crystal grumbled as she grabbed her black hat still holding her hair up underneath it, and tightened her coat around her. They walked into a cave full of pirates as the rest of the crew complained about meeting them.

"The Spade Pirates?" A man's voice said at the front of the group. "The famous Super Rookies have come for me?"

Ace waved his hands in front of him furiously. "No. That's not what I'm here for! My little brother owes you his life and he never stops talking about you! I just wanted to meet you and say thanks."

Shanks looks at him confused as he tries to think of who he is talking about.

"Ah! Shanks!" Crystal says finally coming up to the front of the group.

"Crystal! What are you doing here?" Shanks yelled once he saw her. "Why aren't you sailing with your dad?"

"I lived with some friends for awhile. Ace here, and his two brothers Luffy and Sabo." Crystal told him as she walked over to him and gave him a slight hug.

"Wait, you mean Luffy?" He asks Ace with a bright smile. "I never knew he had a brother! I see. I'm glad you came!"

Ace let out a thankful smile as he watched Crystal sit in front of the fire and Shanks. He walked over and sat next to her.

"I didn't know it was Shanks you were talking about!" Crystal said as her teeth chattered.

Ace almost fell over as he looked at her exasperated. "I told you it was Red Haired Shanks a few minutes ago."

"Oh!" She said with a small chuckle. She put her hands up next to the fire hoping to warm up and make her shivers go away.

"You're still the same as ever Crystal." Shanks said with a smile.

"Is t-that a g-good thing?" She asked through chattering teeth. Shanks laughed as looked at her as if the cold didn't bother him a bit. "I h-hate the c-c-cold."

Ace smirks as he grabs Crystal, sets her on his lap, and wraps her in his coat to warm her up.

"Acting so lovey dovey so openly?" Shanks said as the others watch with smirks at Ace and Crystal. Crystal tilted her head confused as her shivers subsided. "Never thought I'd see the day when Crystal would get so close to a guy."

"They've always been this way since we've seen them. Crystal says that they've always done this since she first met him when she was seven." One of Ace's and Crystal's crewmates said.

Shanks quirked an eyebrow at them as Ace blushed but Crystal tilted her head the other way. He chuckled as he grabbed some of the sake and poured it around as Ace and Crystal told him about Luffy.

"Really? He still talks about becoming the Pirate King?" Shanks asks.

"It's pretty much his catchphrase." Ace says holding his cup of sake.

"Yeah, he's set on finding One Piece and becoming the strongest pirate in the world!" Crystal says as she gently pulls Ace's arm down to take a sip of the sake, but makes a face at the strength of it.

Ace chuckles as he chugs the rest down. "Well, I feel bad for Luffy…" Ace says as he puts his cup down and looks Shanks straight in the eye. "…since I'm the one who's going to be the Pirate King!"

"Oh, is that so?" Shanks says nudging him on.

"First, I'll make every sea recognize my strength!" Ace says getting into it as Crystal climbs out of his lap and grabs a bottle of water before she sits next to him warmed up fully.

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?"

"I'm gonna defeat the so-called strongest man in the world!"

Crystal spits out her water as she realizes who he is talking about making Shanks momentarily look at her questioningly and her shake her head slightly at him.

"You're gonna take Whitebeard's head?" Shanks says with a chuckle.

"If that's what I need to do to earn a name." Ace says. "After all I have to prove to Crystal's father that I'm strong enough."

The crew laughed at Ace's reasoning hearing it before and them finally going along with it wanting to meet this 'father' of Crystal's.

Crystal looks at Shanks with worry as he looks back at her and laughs. They drop the subject as they party for the rest of the night.

Time passed as Crystal tried to convince Ace not to attack Whitebeard. Finally the day came when Jimbei, a friend of Whitebeard, tried to stop Ace from reaching Whitebeard.

"Hey, big guy! I wanna meet this Whitebeard!" Ace told him as he stood facing Jimbei head on.

"I'm not going to allow a kid with murderous intent to see the old man!" Jimbei told Ace as his gaze momentarily flicked to Crystal in wonder.

The crew tried to convince Ace to back down before he got hurt in futile attempt.

"Really? One of the Seven Warlords?" Ace asked amused. "Well, that's gonna be a problem."

"I may not be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates…" Jimbei told him. "…but I feel it is my duty to face you!" Both got into a battle stance ready for the fight to come.

Ace jumped towards him making his arm become engulfed in flames ready to punch him in the face. An explosion happened where Jimbei blocked him; Ace and Jimbei continued to attack and defend against each other as explosions littered the battleground. The crew held Crystal back as she tried to help Ace, but was ordered by Ace to stay away.

"It's been five days and they're still fighting." A crewmate said in disbelief with the others as they watch the battle continue on.

They broke from each other both panting hard from the fight, covered in dirt, bruises, and cuts. Jimbei tried to step forward, but ended up collapsing onto the ground from exhaustion, Ace followed after him as they both couldn't move anymore to continue.

"Ace!" Crystal and their crew yell as they watch him fall.

A ship pulls up through the fog and dogs on the edge of the vast canal leading to the battlefield.

"What's that?" A crew mate asks worriedly. The crew was all too scared to move to rush over to Ace and one of them was still hanging onto Crystal making sure she didn't rush into the battle.

"Where's the kid who wants to take my head?" A gruff booming voice says. A shadow of a man appears on the head of the ship with a weapon. "As you wish. I'll take you on!"

The fog clears showing a huge man, about five times the average human, with scars along his chest and stomach, with a white crescent shaped mustache. He was wearing white pants, a white coat hung over his shoulders and a black bandana, as he wielded a bisento in his hand. His crew stood behind him as they looked down at the others with menace.

"It's the Whitebeard Pirates!" The crew yelled in worry.

"I'll take care of this myself." Whitebeard told his crew.

Ace grunted as he tried to lift himself off the ground; Whitebeard walked over to Ace smashing his bisento bottom on the ground every time. He stopped in front of Ace as he looked down at his crew and a huge blast blew everyone away from them.

"You guys!" Ace yells as he watches his crew yell as they fly away. "Enjoumou!" Ace yells as a wall of flames separates Whitebeard from his crew and Crystal. Ace stands there facing Whitebeard as he spread his arms out to keep the wall of flames up.

"Captain! Captain Ace, what are you doing?" The crew asks panicked.

Crystal stared in worry as she lost sight of Ace on the other side.

"Run, you guys!" Ace yells at them.

"No!" Crystal yells at him. Neither the crew or Crystal leave Ace's side as they wait for the wall of fire to go down and them to rush in to help.

"What? You gonna run away now?" Whitebeard says accusingly.

"I'm letting my crew escape." Ace counters back at him. "I stand in their place. I won't run!"

"What a cheeky little brat you are!" Whitebeard tells him with a smirk.

Ace rights himself as he leans down and launches himself at Whitebeard. Whitebeard frowns and swings his bisento hitting Ace with the blunt side and sending him flying towards the walls of flame. Ace made the walls fall as he almost lost consciousness; he got back up and raced towards Whitebeard again hoping to land an attack this time. The same result happened again, but Ace didn't give up as he repeatedly attacked Whitebeard but had no luck in hitting him once. Finally once Whitebeard hit him there was no more energy for Ace to fight any longer and he lied on the ground face first with his hat lying next to him and the ground crumbled around them from the battles. Whitebeard thought the battle was over until Ace's hand started to move and he lifted his head up.

"This is the man whose strength rivaled _his_." Ace said in frustration. He glared up at Whitebeard and tried to get up. "I'm…"

"You still trying to stand up?" Whitebeard said impressed. Ace looked up at him with a harder glare as he was on his elbows and knees. "I'd hate to see you die here, kid. If you still want to fight, then take my name and roam the seas wild and free!" Whitebeard told him making Ace look up in surprise then resentment as he thought he was pitying him. Whitebeard reached out his hand to Ace making him look at Whitebeard once again. "Become my son!"

Ace's eyes widened at the command. "You gotta be kidding me!" He said as he pushed Whitebeards hand away.

"I guess we'll have to take that little bit of fight out of you." Whitebeard said with a smirk. He raised his hand ready to send another blast similar to the one he hit the crew with.

Crystal finally came out of shock as she pushed herself forward and placed herself between Ace and Whitebeard just as Whitebeard let the attack go. Ace's eyes widened along with the crew's as they watch it head toward Crystal. "Daddy! Stop!" Crystal yells as she makes the wind pick up and throw the attack to the side and making a shield around her and Ace. The hat fell off her head, letting her long golden hair finally fall down and into the open. Whitebeard's eyes widen at the sight of her as Ace loses consciousness on the ground.


	8. Jealousy Arises

**(c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. Oc's belong to me!**

**Chapter 8! Enjoy! R&R**

* * *

Ace awoke with a start as he sat up in bed quickly; he took in his surroundings as he calmed his breathing and walked to the door. Bright light greeted him with a seagulls cry as he stepped out onto the deck of the ship; the wind blew gently as the ocean moved past the ship. Ace couldn't believe that he was on Whitebeards ship in the middle of the ocean; exhaustion took him again as the realization kicked in, he turned and collapsed to the floor as he sat against the side of the boat and put his head in his hands thinking of what he needed to do next. He needed to find Crystal as soon as he could so she could clear things up; at least that was the excuse he told himself, really he just wanted to see that she was okay.

"Hey!" A voice said as footsteps approach Ace making him look up in surprise. "I'm Commander of the Fourth Division, Thatch." A man with big brown hair and a small beard, wearing a white chef's shirt, white pants and a yellow ascot with an adjoining crescent scar around his left eye said as he opened his arms wide for a welcoming pose. Ace looked at him incredulously as he wondered why the man was making such introductions. "Since you're joining our crew," He started to say as he jumped up slightly and sat on the railing on the boat laying his leg over the other slightly and crossing his arms, "I think we should be friends."

Ace grew angry at him saying that he was joining their crew. "Shut up!" He gave up as his thoughts drifted back to worrying about Crystal.

Thatch laughed it off as he looked at Ace with a carefree smile. "You sure woke up in a bad mood. Oh, yeah. Do you want to know what happened after you passed out?"

Ace's mind became alerted as it processed that he would find out what happened to Crystal and his crew, but he sat still waiting for the man to continue on.

"Your girlfriend knocked back Whitebeard and your companions came to get you back, so we beat them up and took the girl before she could try anything else. Then your crew decided to fight back for the two of you, so we captured to too." Ace flinched slightly at hearing him say how they took Crystal. "What? It's not like they're dead. We're keeping them here on this ship."

Ace finally looked up angry at Thatch's carefree manner, but relieved on the inside that the others were alright. "Are you sure you should leave me like this without any locks or shackles or anything?"

Thatch took on a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' tone as he looked at Ace. "Shackles? We don't need those!"

Ace gritted his teeth in anger, thinking he was making fun of his lose to Whitebeard. Ace waited till Thatch left and night came to search the ship quietly looking for Whitebeards room. He wanted to find out where Crystal was and if attacking Whitebeard was the answer then so be it. He finally found it and snuck into the room to find Whitebeard asleep with a snot bubble coming out of his nose as he snored and an oxygen tube filtered under his nose as monitors kept track of his health.

Ace slowly enflamed himself by the door and looked to see if Whitebeard woke up; when he didn't Ace's rage became stronger as he jumped at Whitebeard and swung his arm for an attack with a knife. Whitebeard woke up then and knocked Ace out of the room sending him through the wall and out onto the deck hitting the railing outside.

Two crewmates froze as Ace crashed through and became frustrated as they saw Ace. "Hey, hey, what d'ya think you're doing?" One asked him.

"You should be more considerate at this time of night!" The other yelled.

Ace held his nose as blood dripped passed his fingers and onto his chest, while Ace stared at the hole he just crashed through in exasperation. Whitebeard lied on the other side of the hole in bed and fast asleep once again, as if nothing had just happened.

The next day Ace snuck around the ship looking for Whitebeard; finally he inched around a corner of the ship, burst out towards Whitebeard and raised an axe to slice Whitebeard. Whitebeard stood there until the last minute before hitting Ace once again, sending him flying across the deck, past the railing and into the ocean.

"Hey, he fell overboard!" A crewmate said worriedly.

"And he can't swim, either!" Another added in.

"Someone, go save him." One commanding nonchantaly.

Day after day, through clear and stormy days, Ace tried to attack Whitebeard in any way he could, but with the same result of being thrown back and into something.

"Every day he does this. He has real persistence." Vista said playing with his mustache.

Ace gets thrown overboard once again as he yells before hitting the ocean.

"More than a hundred times now, isn't it?" A crew mate asked the others watching.

"Yup, pretty sure it is." The other confirmed.

"Seems like I'll have to get **her**." A man with spiky blond hair only on the top of his head said. He wore a purple over shirt with blue pants and a green sash and gold belt with sandals.

"What do you mean Marco?" A crewmate asked.

Another day droned by as the crew partied on the deck of the ship while Ace sat by the railing once again propping his arms on his knees as they lay slack and his head lying on his arms. Footsteps approach Ace as he sits there and a bowl of steaming food was placed beside him.

Marco stood in front of Ace for a few seconds then began to walk off; Ace looked up and then to the food. "You guys," Ace said making Marco stop and look to him, "why do you call him your father, anyways?"

Marco smiles as he answers Ace, "Because he calls us his sons." Ace looks up at Marco in confusion. "To the rest of the world we're all just outcasts. It makes us happy."

Ace stared at him in disbelief as he understood quite well what he was talking about.

"It's just a word, but it makes us happy." Marco tells him with a bigger smile spreading from ear to ear.

Ace clenched his teeth again as he grimaced and laid his head down on his arms again, fighting back the tears that wanted to come. He knew the feeling all too well when everyone shunned him and were cruel to him for who his father was. Marco understood as he let out a sigh and walked over to Ace, kneeling down in front of him.

"Hey, how long are you gonna keep risking your life like this?" Marco asks him seriously. "Make up your mind already! You can't possibly take the old man's head the way that you are now. Are you gonna get off this ship and start over? Or are you gonna stay here and accept Whitebeard's mark?"

Thatch, Vista, Jozu, and Whitebeard gathered nearby wondering what the two were talking about and smiled when they heard Marco told him to make up his mind.

"You know he's right Ace." A feminine voice said.

Ace's head jerk upwards as he looked for the voice; his eyes widened in surprise as he saw Crystal standing there with his hat hanging loosely on her neck. She walked over to him slowly and stood before him.

"And I thought you said that you wanted to make a GOOD impression on my dad." Crystal said with a giggle. Her eyes took a calming effect on ace as they softened and she knelt down in front of him. "Here," She said reaching out to him. He looked at her hand and saw her blue diamond necklace sitting there. It was a necklace with a blue diamond in a 3D diamond shape about the size of a pinky. She always wore it without taking it off; she told him how it was a present from her brother to help her control her powers easier. He looked back up at her with surprised eyes making her giggle again. "Don't worry, I didn't remove mine." She told him as she showed her own necklace to him. "I made a replica of mine. This way you'll know when I need help, when my power is becoming too strong, and it will help you stop me if it does."

Ace didn't move as he stared at her in shock still; he thought that they had dropped her off somewhere and that he'd never get to see her again. She sighed as she reached forward and clasped the necklace chain behind his neck. He froze at her closeness but relaxed as he realized it was the real her; his arms moved on their own as they wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to him in happiness.

"Hey, Ace!" Crystal said in surprise as her face nestled in his shoulder. She relaxed and waited till he was done and pulled back to look him in the eye. "So what do you say? Will you join daddy's crew?" She asked him with a small smile.

Ace jumps out of the sky and on Douma's ship wearing black sorts, black boots, a blue pouch, orange belt with a belt buckle adorned with an 'A' on it, a green dagger, and his usual red beaded necklace and new blue diamond necklace. He shows off his back now with Whitebeards jolly roger as he ditched the shirts deciding to not cover up his new tattoo that now joined the ASCE on his left arm, with the 'S' crossed out.

"You're Douma right?" Ace asks him as he sets his hand aflame.

Douma prepares his sword as he crosses his arms in a battle stance ready to fight. Ace lunges his fist at Douma as his flames take out their opponent easily.

"Wow, Ace did it again!" A crewmate said astounded.

"He made Douma's crew surrender, all on his own!" Another added.

Ace smirked as he patted himself with a towel to take his sweat off. He looked around for Crystal awaiting her usual welcome and congratulations of taking down another enemy, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Crystal?" Ace asks the crew, still looking around.

"She's right here," Marco says coming out of a room and standing outside the door.

"Oi! Crystal, did you hear what I did?" Ace asks walking towards the door.

Ace froze as he dropped his towel on the deck; his jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of his head at the sight he saw before him. Crystal walked out in boots similar to his but they reach up to her mid-calf, short black shorts that ended just below her butt, showing off her legs and butt, with a blue pouch and orange belts joining it as he looked at his belt buckle hanging loosely from the belts like his. His eyes roamed up her bare, toned, and perfectly curved stomach and to her large chest, which he never knew she had, being covered by a string bikini top.

Crystal looked at him oblivious to what she was doing to the crew right now, as she tied her hair up with a hair tie. She looked around at the crew, whose noses were now dripping blood from their perverted thoughts of her exiting the room. She walked over to Ace and quirked an eyebrow as she saw his nose do the same thing.

"Are you okay Ace?" She asks him looking at his nose.

He blinked in surprise as he quickly turned around and composed himself once again before facing to her again."Fine, just fine." He said waving his hand from side to side hoping to cover for himself.

"Crystal! Whoever knew you had such a figure underneath those clothes!" Thatch said walking over to her and looking her up and down. "What size is your chest? A 'C'?"

Crystal shook her head simply. "No, a 'D'." She plainly told him making all the guys' tongue lull out of their heads at the new fantasies arising.

"She just took some of the clothes that Ace couldn't fit anymore and made her own clothes." Marco told Thatch.

"What about pops' tattoo? You can't see it!" Thatch complained looking all around her.

"It's right here," Crystal said pointing at her inner hip making everyone look and find Whitebeards tattoo plainly there and showing. "I made sure not to cover it up." She told them as she grinned.

"Seems like you have your work cut out for you." Marco whispered to Ace. He smirked as Ace looked at him with a faint blush as he glared at Marco. "After all, now all of Whitebeards crew are going to be going after the ONLY girl in his crew."

Ace's eyes widened at the realization of Marco's true words. Crystal was the only girl in Whitebeards crew other than the nurses, and now she's not hiding under all those clothes that hide how she looks.

Ace and Crystal look back at the crewmate behind them as they fixed their beds. "Us, become the Second Division Commanders?" Ace asked him.

"We've been missing one for a long time. The others would surely accept you and Crystal! After all you guys work best together!" The crewmate told them.

They looked at him with slight confusion and curiosity as they thought about the possibility.

Ace and Crystal walked towards the tables for food as they found Teach, or Blackbeard, sitting at one. They sat next to him hoping to ask him about what the crewmates brought up.

"You've been here a lot longer than me, right? Are you sure it's okay?" Ace asks Blackbeard, as the latter shoves a whole pie in his mouth.

Blackbeard laughs as he looks at Ace with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I don't have that kind of ambition anyway." Ace looked at him as he chewed on some bread trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. "Go ahead, Commander Ace, Commander Crystal!"

Crystal laughed as she tossed Blackbeard her huge leg of meat as a thanks and he laughed as Ace dropped his jaw in want of that leg. They ate and finally walked around thinking about the option.

"I think it'll be fun," Crystal says as she walks ahead of Ace.

Ace stops by the railing and looks out into the sky and sea thinking about if he should tell Whitebeard about who his father is or not. Crystal looks at him knowingly as if reading his mind.

"You should tell him." Crystal said gently as she walks off quietly towards Whitebeards room.

Ace clenches his fist as he finally decides and walks off to Whitebeards cabin for a talk. Whitebeard stops drinking as he hears a knock at his door.

"Old man, can I come in?" Ace asks quietly. Ace walks in and sits down before Whitebeard. He looks over at Crystal standing next to her father as she gives him a small nod. "You see, my father is Gol D. Roger."

Whitebeard let out a small laugh as Ace sat down. "Really? What a surprise! So that's how it is!" Whitebeard takes another swig of his sake jar as Crystal stares at Ace in surprise."You don't really act like Roger, though."

"Weren't you two enemies?" Ace asks him waiting for anger to flare out at any moment. "You're not gonna throw me out?"

"When you said you had something important to talk about. I thought it would be bigger than that." Whitebeard told him with a smile. Ace looked up in surprise towards Whitebeard. "It doesn't matter who your parents were. Everyone is a child of the sea."

Whitebeard lets out a gruff laugh as Ace stares at him in shock at the words. "After all, if I bothered judging a person by who their parents were, I wouldn't have let Crystal become my adoptive daughter!" Ace smirks as he relaxes by the answer.

"I never would have thought that you would be Gol D. Roger's son though," Crystal said with smirk. "I guess what Roger said was true, huh daddy?" Crystal asked Whitebeard making Ace look at her in confusion. Crystal shook her head at him slightly. "I'll tell you another time."

The next day came when Ace and Crystal told the others about accepting the request for being Second Division Commander.

"And now, Ace and Crystal are officially the Second Division Commanders!" Marco cheered.

People all around them cheered as they lifted their barrels of beer up into the air. Marco scooted over to Ace and draped an arm around his shoulder as he put a sly smirk on his face. "Hey, this celebration is for you guys! Why are you spacing out? Here." Marco says shoving meat into his mouth as Ace swallows it in one gulp. He starts to shove food into his mouth left and right almost forgetting to chew sometimes before he swallowed. "I guess now you'll have a better chance to keep a hold on Crystal."

Ace choked on the meat as he tried to yell at Marco; someone handed him a drink as he chugged it down and got the food dislodged as he complained to Marco that Crystal might hear him, when her laughter filled the air making everyone turn to her with a calm air around them.

Whitebeard had told her something to make her laugh so now his gruff laugh joined hers as it echoed throughout the ship and sea.

"Tenshi no Crystal, huh? It really fits here. She's like an angel sent here to us." Thatch said with a smile.

"Ace!" Crystal shouted as she ran over to him.

He couldn't help but notice the way her chest bounced making his nose bleed and him to fall backwards as his face reddened.

"Are you okay? I can't believe this happened again!" Crystal said worriedly.

Everyone bust up laughing as the oblivious Crystal looked at all of them in confusion. A light bulb went off above her head as she picked up a huge hunk of meat off the plate and waved it above his nose. He shot up towards the meat and chomped on it as he sat up facing Crystal.

"I knew that would work!" Crystal said gleefully.

"Hey, hey, the food isn't going anywhere! There's plenty more where that came from!" Thatch said as Ace tried to take away Crystal's plate of food.

Ace looked at him for a moment before his head tilted slightly back and a snot bubble formed as he began to snore. Everyone except Crystal fell over in exasperation at his sudden narcoleptic attack. Crystal laughed as she pinched his cheeks and sat in his lap with her legs on either side of his waist as she started to smack, punch and pinch his face, arms, and chest to try and wake him up. He finally woke back up with a start as he registered how Crystal was sitting.

"You shouldn't be sitting like that unless you want something to happen." Ace said spookily.

Crystal looked at him confused as he raised his hands and started to crack his fingers by moving them. Her eyes widened in realization as she tried to dart from his lap, only for him to grab her by her waist and pull her back against his chest, running his fingers along her side making her laugh in uncontrollable fits.

"Help me!" Crystal gasped out as she tried to twist out of Ace's reach.

"Why would I stop you two love birds?" Whitebeard asked with a gruff laugh making Crystal look at him in exasperation.

"Traitor!" Crystal yelled jokingly making everyone laugh.

Ace finally stopped when Crystal ran out of breath and draped his arms loosely around her waist and into her lap. He laid his head on top of hers as he let out a sigh of contentment. Crystal breathed heavily as she finally could get some air into her lungs.

"Shanks wasn't kidding when he said he saw Crystal sitting in the lap of a man!" Thatch said with shock.

"I thought he was making up a story." Marco said with a smirk as he looked down at them.

"Maybe I'll finally have some grandchildren soon!" Whitebeard added in making Ace blush in embarrassment along with Crystal who perfectly understood that.

The crew began to harass Crystal and Ace about how they're always so close with each other and how they look like a perfect couple with how they act. Crystal and Ace argued back with many arguments but to no avail as their faces turned many shades of red with each harassment. Little did either know that a certain big, round man, with a black beard was glaring at Ace who told him there was nothing going on between him and Crystal, bringing up his hopes that he could have a chance at the delicate angel.


	9. A Betrayal in the Crew

**One Piece (c) Eichiro Oda. All rights to One Piece characters and plot belongs to Eichiro Oda. OC's belong to me so don't take or steal please!**

**R&R. Chapter 9 **

* * *

"Hey, Crystal!" Teach said walking up behind her as she sat on the side of the ship.

Crystal turned around to face Teach as he leaned against the railing next to her. "Hey,"

"So, what's going on between you and Ace?" He asked acting as if he wasn't really that interested.

Crystal quirked an eyebrow at him as she thought about it. "He's my best friend." She told him simply. "I wouldn't want to be near any other guy but him."

He gives his head a slight nod as he looked out at the sea, "You know," Teach said grabbing her attention, "hanging on Ace all the time like that must be difficult for him."

"What do you mean?" Crystal asked confused as she draped one leg on the inside of the boat.

Teach turned to her and smirk evilly. "You're always hugging him, sitting on his lap or just hanging on him." Teach told her, a plan forming in his head. "Don't you think now that Ace is 19 and you're 17 that you'd both need to find someone? I know there are girl's out there going after Ace."

Crystal couldn't explain the pain in her chest that she felt when he told her that, she felt like her heart was being punched inside her. She clenched her fists and looked out at the ocean acting like it didn't bother her. "That's his decision."

"Ah, but it would make the girls go away if they saw you hanging on him, now wouldn't it?" Teach said. This time she couldn't hide how it hurt her, how the realization knocked her in the chest. He smiled evilly knowing it was working. "Do you want to do that to Ace?"

Crystal shook her head furiously. "I want Ace to be happy."

"I bet you do," Teach said looking around the deck, "But he can't find a girl if you stay that close to him."

Crystal thought about how much she would have to change her normal life from acting like she usually does with Ace. Her heart clenched; she didn't like how she felt right now. "Okay," She told herself to force her heart to stop hurting like that.

The rest of the day Crystal avoided Ace as much as she could, making everyone watch in wonder at the strange acting between the two.

"What is going on with you and Crystal?" Teach asked him with a fake worried glance.

"I don't know, she won't come near me today," Ace said watching Crystal walk around.

"Hm, I wonder why. Maybe she's just sick of you hanging around her." Teach said with a smirk hidden below his worry. "Let's go get some dinner. That always cheers you up."

"Yeah," Ace said walking with Teach to dinner.

Ace smiled as he walked over to Crystal and sat down next to her. "Hey!"

Crystal looked at him with a smile as she finished up her food quickly. Teach sat down on the other side of her and cupped her elbow making her sit down once again. Ace looked in confusion at the spectacle between the two. He didn't like how she was letting him touch her, even if it was just her elbow.

_What am I thinking? Crystal is just a friend! Nothing else!_ Ace thought to himself as he shook his head to get the anger away. No matter what he told himself he knew he didn't like Teach touching her.

Crystal and Teach talked as if Ace wasn't there, until finally he got up and left to sit with Marco and Thatch. Crystal watched him with sad eyes as she saw Ace walk off, but couldn't stop him as Teach's words rang in her head.

Days passed by as Teach told lies to Crystal and made Ace secretly feel like it was his fault.

"Hey, Teach," Crystal asked walking up to Teach. "Ace doesn't look like he's happy at all,"

Teach looked at her and played a smile. "What are you talking about?"

Crystal saw the flash in his eyes as he let out a small chuckle. "What are you playing at?"

"Nothing," Teach said looking out to the sea.

Crystal narrowed her eyes at him as she stepped up to him putting her face close to his. "What did you do?" She watched as Teach smiled evilly at her making her eyes widen. "You planned to make me and Ace avoid each other didn't you?!" Teach chuckled giving her an answer. "WHY?!"

Teach glared at Crystal this time as he pushed his face even closer to hers in anger. "Because both you and Ace say there isn't anything going on between you two romantically, but you both act otherwise. I'm sick of seeing you two like that, as I sit by and watch it."

"You're jealous?!" Crystal accused angrily. "You did this because you're jealous?!" Crystal growled as she turned to leave.

Teach gripped her wrist roughly pulling her back to him as he made her face him. "Not just because of that. You two took the commander position even though I was here longer, you two became the new strongest people on the ship, Whitebeard treats like you like he's a doting father while he treats us different, and you don't give a second look at another guy like me who tries to get your attention!"

"Then try harder!" Crystal said, then shook her head in annoyance. "I wouldn't go for a guy like you if my life depended on it! I can't help it if daddy treats me that way! I AM his daughter! Just because you aren't strong enough to fight doesn't mean you have to take it out on others!"

Teach gripped her wrist harder making her wince. "I guess Whitebeard has a new enemy then. You will pay for saying that, and so will your 'daddy'" Whitebeard threatened stressing the last word with hate.

She pulled her wrist out of his grip glaring at him; once he turned her eyes turned to worry as she turned and quickly found Ace as he went around the corner.

"Ace! We have a problem!" Crystal said in a hushed whisper.

Ace glared at Crystal accusingly making her flinch back, never having seen those eyes directed towards her. "What had a little fight with your new best friend?"

"What? He is NOT my best friend!" Crystal yelled at him. She shook her head to throw those thoughts away. "Ace, you need to listen! Teach he…"

"I don't want to hear it! I saw, I already know!" Ace told her with anger. She relaxed thinking she didn't have to explain to him then. "You and your friend just had a little fall out, then you got all close to each other to make up. Fine, I don't care." Ace walked off before Crystal could complain.

"No one is going to believe you," Teach said quietly watching from the corner.

Crystal let out a huff as she headed to Marco, then Thatch, Vista, Jozu, anyone. No one believed her when she told them.

"Teach wouldn't do that kind of thing. He's part of the family, we've known him longer than you, he wouldn't do that." Every one told her.

She walked to Whitebeards room hoping at least that he would believe her. She knocked on his door and waited for him to say she could come in. "Daddy, please, you need to listen to me."

He gave her a confused stare as she walked into the room and closed the door tightly behind her making sure that nobody was outside the door first.

"What's going on? Something troubling you?" Whitebeard asked taking a chug out of his sake jug again.

"Teach….he…." Crystal thought about how she could explain it differently to her father. "He says that he's going to hurt me and you. He says that he's going to make everyone here pay. He's planning to do something, but I don't know what. We need to stop him somehow."

Whitebeard looked at her for a couple seconds then burst out laughing. "This is a fine joke you have going here."

"Daddy! It's not a joke!" Crystal argued back. Whitebeard was her last hope, if he didn't believe her, then something bad was going to happen.

"Teach wouldn't do anything to us. We're his family! He may get mad but he wouldn't do anything." Whitebeard told her. "I'm disappointed in you for doubting someone part of our family."

"But -" Crystal began to say, but stopped as she saw the look on Whitebeards face telling her that that was enough. She walked out of the room in disappointment; she shut the door and sigh until she heard a low chuckle next to her.

"I told you. I guess you're on your own now, Tenshi." Teach said before he walked off.

Crystal couldn't sleep for a couple more days worried that Teach would do something at any moment to the crew or her father. She distanced herself from everyone, to scared to drag any of them in now that Teach could hurt them for being close to her.

"Hey," Thatch said walking up to Crystal. "You okay?"

Crystal looked up at him as he jumped up onto the railing with her. "Yeah,"

"Hey I'm going out for a short mission. Some informants said they know where a devil's fruit is." Thatch told her. "You want to go with me?" He watch as her face showed that she was about to argue. "You need to get away. You need a break from here."

Thatch doesn't wait for an answer as he grabs her arm and drags her to her room to grab some clothes. He makes her pack some and then drags her along to the boat.

"We'll be back in about a week!" Thatch told the others. He waved as they sailed off to their informant.

Three days passed sailing towards the island and docked for arrival. During the time they were away Thatch had finally got Crystal to open up and talk about why she was worrying. She explained the whole story about Teach from when he told her Ace would be better off without her hanging on him. She finished just as they were pulling into the dock and tying the ship off.

"That bastard, I knew he had a crush on you, but to take it that far." Thatch said glaring at the rope he was tying. "Don't worry, when we get back, I'll help you take him down so he won't do anything to anyone to our family."

Crystal smiled, happy that someone finally believed her; even though she tried to get him to believe her before. Thatch smiled back at her glad to have her back to her cheerful mood.

"Now let's go find that informant of mine." He told her.

They walked around the small town checking every bar they could to find the informant.

"Oi! Thatch!" A voice yelled up ahead.

"Hey Len!" Thatch yelled up ahead to him.

The man walked closer enough for Crystal to get a good look at him. He had shaggy blonde hair, with green eyes; he was tall and scrawny.

"This must be Tenshi no Crystal." The man said holding out his hand for her. She gave him a small smile as she took it and gave a small shake. "She really does look like an angel. Too bad you aren't a part of my crew."  
Crystal blushed slightly at the compliment, but became serious again.

"Yeah, right. You'd have to fight Whitebeard to get her." Thatch told him with a pat to the back.

"Too bad," Len said with a shrug. "Come on, let's go into the bar so I can tell you where I saw it."

They walked into the bar and sat down at a corner booth ignoring the stares people were giving them.

"I guess you guys bring a lot of attention huh?" Crystal asked him.

"Being a Whitebeard pirate brings attention." Len points out.

Crystal smiles knowingly as she slides into the booth on the same side as Thatch. "So where is this devil fruit you were telling Thatch about?"

"It's not going to be just get it and go. You see some pirates are holding it, hoping to get some money off of it if they sell it." Len explained to her.

Crystal let out a laugh making both of them look at her confused. "Sorry. I grew up with pirates, I know how to deal with them."

"Now, I'm really glad you came along with me." Thatch said jokingly as he patted her back with a smile on his face.

A waitress came over and set some beers down onto the table. Each of them took one and gulped some down before continuing.

"Go past this town, up the hill, and down into the gulley below and you'll find where the pirates in a small canal that they are hiding at." Len told them pointing in which direction they needed to go.

"Well, then. Shall we go?" Thatch asked Crystal as he gulped down his drink quickly.

Crystal nodded and did the same to her drink before sliding out of the booth.

"I hope we meet again," Crystal told him with a smile.

He nodded towards her as she walked out of the bar with Thatch. They followed Len's directions and edged down into the gulley keeping an eye out for the pirates. They snuck onto their ship only to be ambushed by two brothers who almost looked like twins. Thatch pulled out two swords as Crystal pressed her back to his as she enflamed her hand like Ace has done. The brother's launch at them as Thatch blocks one with his swords and pushes him away, and Crystal stops the others attack by raising flames up and heating up his sword enough to make him drop it.

Thatch slashes out at the first brother until he flings his sword away from his grasp and pins him to the floor. Crystal dashes out towards the brother she was battling and slammed her fist upward into his jaw knocking him out and slamming him into the floor.

"Stop! Here!" The brother Thatch said holding out the devil's fruit not wanting to fight with the two as he snatched a glance at the Whitebeard tattoo on Thatch and Crystal.

"Thanks!" Crystal said smiling.

Thatch shook his head as he took the fruit as a prize, grabbed Crystal and took off running to their boat.

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be!" Thatch yelled cheerfully once they were back into the town.

"Shut up!" Crystal said laughing. "Someone might hear you." She couldn't stop laughing in happiness, that Thatch started laughing along with her.

The passed by Len and Crystal flashed him a smirk as Thatch nodded his head. Len chuckled as he waved them along. Once they got to the boat, they undid the ropes and set sail once again to their family. Crystal was so happy that she completely forgot about Teach and what he was planning.

Ace couldn't help but be mad at Crystal, but he was starting to feel bad when he saw her keeping away from everyone else and always being alone now. He was about to walk over to her and apologize, when he saw Thatch beat him to it and start to talk to her. He went back to the group and waited for Thatch to leave on his mission. A couple minutes passed until Ace looked back and saw Thatch dragging Crystal to her room, Crystal came back out with a pack full of clothes; he watched as Thatch made Crystal jump onto his boat and he told them he was sailing with Crystal.

"How many more days?" Ace asked Marco for the thousandth time.

"Chill Ace. They'll be back in three days." Marco told him becoming irritated. "It's your fault for being mad at her before she left. You should know how to control your jealousy."

"I'm not jealous!" Ace yells arguing.

"Yeah? Then if I told you I got mad seeing Crystal with another guy, that I saw them fighting then making up by being close that I got so mad I didn't even want to listen to her explanation. What would you call that?" Marco said looking Ace straight in the eye.

Ace went to open his mouth, then shut it in realization. He put his head in his hands as he grumbled. "I can't believe this."

"That you were being jealous, or that you like her?" Marco smirked.

"Both," Ace said with a sigh.

Marco softened a bit as he understood his confusion. "I think you just denied it for so long you believed it."

"I don't want to ruin what me and her have in our friendship." Ace confessed.

"I don't think that would be a problem." Marco said.

Ace looked up confused but Marco chuckled and got back to working.

"This has taken a lot longer than I thought it would have." Crystal complained as Whitebeard's ship came into view.

"Don't complain!" Thatch said putting his hand on Crystal's head and ruffling her hair.

She laughed as she looked up at him. "You act just like my brother did."

Thatch looked at her and smiled from ear to ear in joy at the compliment. "I guess I'm your brother then."

Crystal smiled big as she gave him a hug. They pulled up to the boat as the others drop a latter for them to climb. Thatch pushes her up the ladder making her chuckle at him from up high; she flung herself over the edge to be welcomed with smiles by everyone.

"Can you believe it? You're bounties have increased again!" Teach said with poison dripping off his words.

"Yeah," Crystal said glaring at him.

Thatch jumped over the edge as some of the other crewmates pulled the tiny boat up.

"Ace, we got something interesting!" Thatch told Ace making him look over along with everyone else.

"Oh, ain't that a devil's fruit?" Ace said surprised.

"I don't know what fruit it is yet, though." Thatch said.

Crystal looked at Teach as his face went from fear and surprise to an evil smile as shadows covered his face, making cold shivers run down her spine. Crystal grabbed Thatch's shirt in fear making him look down at her and to Teach who had recovered once again.

"Keep that fruit safe." Crystal whispered to him as her eyes narrowed.

Night had finally come upon them as everyone went to bed and fell asleep. Crystal snuck out of her room next to Ace's and found Thatch waiting for her in the hallway.

"Did you…" Crystal began to say, but stopped looking around.

Thatch nodded to her as thunder boomed outside and lightning flashed. "Come on, let's go get check the mast real quick."

Crystal nodded as they walked out onto the deck to talk so the thunder would drown them out. "Where is it?" Crystal asked him as they stepped outside.

"I have it right here," Thatch said patting his chest.

"Thanks for telling me." A gruff voice laughed out.

Crystal wiped around as Teach came out of the shadows and towards them. Teach dashed forward quickly wielding a knife and stabbing Thatch before Crystal could stop him. Thatch fell to the floor as blood pooled around him. Crystal's eyes widened as she kneeled beside him.

"Not again, no, not again, please." Crystal said panicking about the familiar sight of someone lying in their blood. She didn't realize that her hands were glowing as she gripped Thatch's hand tightly.

"I told you, you would pay." Teach said as he reached out quickly and gripped her throat in his hand as he pulled her up into the air, cutting off her airway.

She clawed at his hand as he reached down with the other and took the devil's fruit out of Thatch's inside pocket. He waved the fruit in front of her face as she desperately tried to gasp some air into her lungs. He lashed out with her leg and smashed it into his nose making him grunt in pain and let her go. She stood up quickly facing off Teach as he glared at her, she was about to charge forward when she heard Thatch grunt. She turned to look at him and Teach took the moment to grip his knife and thrust it forward. She turned back to see Teach going towards her, but she couldn't move out of the way in time as it stabbed into her left shoulder mere inches above her heart. She flashed some fire at Teach making a loud explosion as it missed him and hit a barrel of beer. Fire erupted, but was soon put out with the rain pouring down around them.

Teach laugh maniacally as he jumped away from her and Thatch watching her hit the floor hard. He jumped off the ship and into the small boat that her and Thatch had used just hours ago. Crystal's vision blurred as she dragged herself over to Thatch to see if he was okay. He was breathing slightly, but it was almost non-existent. Crystal pushed herself up as pain shot through her shoulder and chest; she almost lost her footing as he vision blurred greatly. Nausea started to build up in her stomach as she pushed it away and slowly walked towards the door leading to the cabins. She walked along the wall holding her shoulder as blood poured down her body, and her hand left a bloody smear along the wall as she used it to steady herself.

"What the hell was that explosion?" Ace yelled from down the hallway.

"It was probably the lightning." Marco reasoned.

"Let's hope so." Whitebeard said.

Crystal stumbled towards the voices as they were talking; she heard gasps as they stopped in the hallway once they saw her.

"Crystal!" Ace yelled frozen in place by shock.

"You….have to…..help….Thatch." Crystal said losing consciousness as she fell to the floor.

Ace rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor. He picked her up and looked at the others. "Go look for Thatch! Quickly! Wake everyone up if we have to! We will find out who did this!"

Marco slammed his fists against doors waking everyone up as Whitebeard boomed out commands for everyone to look for Thatch and to find out who did this unspeakable deed. Few saw Crystal as Ace frantically carried her to the nurse's room to get bandaged up. He just hoped that with all that blood there wasn't major damage.

They found Thatch and brought him to the nurse's room as everyone tried to crowd in to see Thatch and Crystal. Whitebeard yelled at them to get out as everyone decided to gather in the dining room.

Thatch grabbed Ace's arm before he left making him turn quickly in surprise.

"It was Teach," Thatch groaned out quickly before losing consciousness once again.

Ace's anger flared as his body heated up and almost burst into flames. He walked to the dining room and told Whitebeard what Thatch had said.

"She was telling the truth!" Whitebeard yelled angrily at himself. "I can't believe I didn't believe my own daughter!"

"None of us believed her." Marco told Whitebeard.

"I didn't even let her explain. I saw the fight between them, but I thought it was a small lover's quarrel or something." Ace said clenching his fists. He slammed his fist into the wall sending vibrations throughout the room "Dammit! Why couldn't I have just listened to her!?"  
"It's not your fault Ace," Vista said reassuring everyone about that.

"I'm going to kill Teach when I get my hands on him." Ace growled out as flames appeared in his eyes from his anger.

"That can wait another time." Whitebeard said calming down. "Right now we just have to make sure Thatch and Crystal are okay and will stay healthy."

"Captain! Crystal! She's….She's…" A nurse burst through. Catching her breath as everyone turns to look at her in fear; she finally catches her breath and forms a sentence that no one wants to hear right now. "Her heart is going crazy! We can't get it to slow down! At this rate it'll pump too much blood out and she'll bleed to death!"


	10. Hello Luffy!

**One Piece (c) Eichiro Oda. OC's (c) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal.**

**R&R **

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Ace's heart stops at hearing that sentence; he feels like the air was sucked out of him and someone put a clamp on his heart in a metal casing. Without another thought his body propels him forward as he races to the nurse's office with the nurse's following after.

He burst through the room racing to the side of the bed by Crystal; he heard the monitors beeping with her heart sporadically. He looked down at her as the nurse tried to yell at him to leave that he could make it worse. She kept yelling at him, but he couldn't hear a word as he looked down at Crystal; he saw the fear on her face, the cold sweat dousing her body, the way her eyes were moving quickly behind her eyelids, her lips moving but not forming words, and her fingers and hand twitching trying to reach out to someone.

Marco came in and started to pull Ace back away from Crystal. Ace fought against Marco not wanting to leave Crystal. Crystal's hand reached slightly up and started searching for something next to her. Ace jerked out of Marco's grip and grabbed her hand; the nurse's grew angry as they saw Ace grabbing her hand and looked at Marco quickly.

"Get him out of he-" The nurse stopped as the monitors registered Crystal's heartbeat, but this time slowing down to a normal rhythm. "Wait!" The nurse told Marco as she held u her hand to stop him.

Everyone watched as Crystal's face turned calm, and her breathing became normal. Ace sighed in relief as he looked at the nurse's.

"Sorry, I didn't know what to do." Ace said realizing what he did. He looked down at his hand that was gingerly holding hers. _Her hand is so small_. Ace couldn't believe that he never realized how small she was. "I'll let you do what you need." He started to slide his hand out of hers to let the nurses patch her up.

Crystal gasped quietly as her hand started to search for his again, her heartbeat picked up again as her breathing hitched in panic.

The nurse's stared in wonder at Crystal's reaction. "Ace, grab her hand again." Ace did as she said as they all watched Crystal calm again. The nurse's shook their head in amazement at what Ace did to Crystal. "I guess we found our calming agent." They quickly go to work shooing the others out as they began to patch Crystal up once again.

Crystal crack her eyes open as she looked up at the ceiling wondering where she was. Something gripped her hand making her look over and see Ace sitting in a chair, sleeping with his head on the bed as he gripped her hand. She smiled as she sat up in the bed and winced when her shoulder throbbed. Bandages covered her shoulder and chest where the wound was before. Ace grumbled as he woke up and found Crystal sitting up in bed watching him.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" Ace asked quickly as he sat on her bed next to her and looked her over to see if she was doing okay.

"I'm fine Ace. Just a headache." Crystal told him. "Where am I?"

"The nurse's room." Ace told her

Crystal stopped from asking why when every detail of last night came into her mind. She gasped as she gripped Ace's hand and reached her other out to grab his arm "What about Thatch? Is..is he okay?"

Ace looked down at the bed sheets with depression clouding his face; he looks everywhere but at her. Crystal clenches her teeth trying not to cry; she lets go of his hand and arm as she tries to get out of bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice asks coming into the door.

Crystal recognized that voice; her head flashes up as she looks at the man who the voice was coming from. Thatch was standing there in the doorway smirking at her with his normal mischievous and proud look. Crystal quickly got off the bed as she jogged over to Thatch; she stopped in front of him looking him up and down worried it was just a dream.

"Hurry up and give me a hug." Thatch said opening his arms to her. Crystal flung her arms around him as she gripped his shirt to make sure he was real.

"But, how? I saw….Teach he…the blood." Crystal couldn't form a sentence as she remembered seeing Teach stab Thatch and watched as Thatch lay in a blood in his own blood.

"Well, that's thanks to you." Thatch said.

Crystal pulled back from him confused as he lifted his shirt to show the few bandages there.

"I remember hearing you after Teach stabbed me, how you grabbed my hand, then I felt a warmth in my hand and next this I knew my wound was healing on its own." Thatch explained as he moved the bandages to show the wound almost fully healed.

Crystal's mouth fell open as her eyes widened. Thatch and Ace looked at her confused by her reaction being one of unknowing and not surprise.

"You've done that before?" Ace asked reading her face.

"Yeah, it was something my brother taught me. How to heal others and myself." Crystal said. She stopped Ace before he could complain about her not healing herself then. "I never could do it using my hands. It never worked for me; I must have done it unconsciously."

"That works for me." Thatch said as he ruffled Crystal's hair making her wak his head away and grumbles at him.

Ace walks over to Crystal and stays next to her as they go out onto the deck where the others were waiting. They crowded around Crystal asking her how she was doing and if she was okay.

"Crystal," Whitebeard grumbled to hear. "We owe you an apology."

"For what?" Crystal asks looking at him, then to everyone else as they look down at the floor guiltily.

"We should have believed you about Teach, and in doing so you and Thatch got hurt." Whitebeard said as he looked down into his lap feeling guilty he didn't listen to his own daughter.

"Doesn't matter. I got Thatch to believe me when I told him the story." Crystal said smiling at all of them. "Though that didn't turn out to well, ha-ha." She rubbed the back of her head as she looked guiltily at Thatch.

He rolled his eyes at her as he lightly punched her on her head, making her laugh even more. The others stared at her in surprise not expecting her to forgive them just like that.

"What was the story?" Vista asked curious.

So Crystal relayed the story to them as she had done to Thatch, even the fight between her and Ace, but more lightly than what really happened, making Ace look down guiltily knowing he was much more harsh on her than that. She leaned over and bumped his shoulder with hers, giving him a smile that made him relax. By the time she finished her story as was bubbling with anger towards Teach, then more anger bubbled to the surface as he remembered what Teach did to not only Thatch, but Crystal. He looked at her shoulder with the bandages wrapped around it covering the wound.

He got up from the group and went to his room as he packed clothes and essentials into a green bag with black stripes, grabbed his hat and walked back out onto the deck.

"Ace, where are you goin?" A crewmate asks him.

"To get payback," Ace said his face twisted with fury as he walked over to the side of the deck where his striker was.

The crew looked at him surprise as they tried to stop him from going. "Stop it, Ace! Calm down!"

"The old man said he'd make an exception, just this once!" A burly crewmate said holding Ace back. "You don't have to chase after Teach!"

"Let me go! He was a member of my division! If I just ignore this, Thatch and Crystal's pain would all be for nothing!" His fury taking control over his sanity.

Crystal snuck out of the group as Whitebeard spoke up.

"Ace," Ace froze looking at Whitebeard in confusion. "It's fine, just this once. I have a weird feeling about this."

Ace couldn't stop his fury from lashing out, not even when it's towards Whitebeard. "He stabbed two crewmates and escaped! After living under your protection for so many years, he just spat right in your face!"

The gloom on the ship was growing as Ace's fury couldn't be stopped. Everyone knew how he felt, knew that he probably felt worse because Teach was under his command.

"Above all else, he tarnished his father's name. You think I can just ignore that?" Ace said calming down as he pulled his hat on his head and walked back to the railing. The crew moved out of his way, knowing they couldn't stop him when he's like this. "I'll settle this!" Ace yelled to Whitebeard still walking. He jerked his backpack up from the floor and jumped onto the side.

"Not alone you won't!" Crystal yelled making everyone look at her. "You forget Ace, he was in my division also! Beside's I think I'm eligible to get payback myself."

"You are NOT going with me. He's already hurt you once." Ace said his anger lashing out at Crystal.

Crystal narrowed her eyes at him. "I AM going with you."

"You are still hurt. I won't let you go if you're hurt. Until you're healed you won't go, and that won't be anytime soon!" Ace yelled at her.

"Fine," Crystal said.

Crystal narrowed her eyes at him again in anger. Ace turned to jump down when Crystal yanked his arm making him fall on the inside of the ship. He catches himself as he glares at Crystal; his yell is cut off as his lips were caught by Crystal's. His eyes widen as the other's drop their jaws in shock. Crystal pulled back and looked him in the eyes; she reached her hand up to her shoulder and pulled the bandages off. The crew stared in amazement as the wound that was on her shoulder just seconds ago was gone, leaving a tiny scar that was no longer than a pinkie.

She jumped onto the railing and looked down at Ace. "We're going,"

Ace shook his head to recover as he jumped over the edge with Crystal into the striker, with a faint blush painting his cheeks.

The crew ran to the edge reaching out for the two of them hoping they would stop. Marco and Jozu stared with horror as Ace started up his striker.

"Hey, wait! Come back, Ace! Crystal!" Marco yells to him.

Crystal stands just in front of Ace on the silver plate to block the flames as Ace sets his feet on fire and the striker sails off. The crew yells their names hoping that they'd listen and turn back now before going after Teach.

"Teach is going to pay." Ace said with acid dripping off his words.

"No," Crystal said confusing Ace. "Blackbeard is going to pay. He is no longer Teach to us."

Ace nodded in approval as he watched Crystal sit down at the front of the striker.

"Get back here you thief!"

"Ace! I have the money to pay him! Put me down!" Crystal yelled at Ace as he's running with her thrown over his shoulder.

"We can't waste money!" Ace said as a feeble excuse.

They ran into two strangers making Ace stop, set Crystal down and pull out Luffy's Wanted poster.

"Have you seen this guy?" Ace asked them.

They shook their heads; Ace pocketed the poster, threw Crystal over his shoulder, and took off running once again as the voices began to catch up to them. Crystal sighed as she propped her elbow on Aces back watching the men grow farther and farther behind. They left on the striker once again continuing the lead they got on Drum kingdom to where Teach may be. They headed off to Arabasta in hope for finding Teach and maybe find Luffy, their goofy brother.

"It's so hot here," Crystal said feeling the sun beat down on her shoulders through her blue long coat.

"Doesn't bother me." Ace said with a smirk towards Crystal.

"Shut up," Crystal laughed punching his shoulder.

"Oh! Anchan, I haven't seen you around these parts." An old man said as everyone left his stand. "Is this your first time in Arabasta? What do you think? Have a look! It's a golden apple." The old man held out a painted on gold lacquered apple for them to see. He held out his arm to stop Ace and Crystal. "Wait a minute! I have something to tell you in private." He put his hand on the side of his mouth as he whispered. "I found this incredible treasure when exploring some ancient ruins!"

Crystal couldn't help but laugh making the old man finally notice her on the other side of Ace. "If you take one bite of this mysterious golden apple, you can live for a thousand years!" The old man added in wanting to make a sell.

"Sorry, but I've no interest in living for a thousand years. It's enough if I can live through today." Ace told him.

"You've got to start living, before you start dying." Crystal told the old man joining Ace as he walked off. "Or so my comrade here says." Crystal laughed as two idiots yelled in surprise and amazement at the golden apple believing the old man's false story. "Poor fools."

Ace chuckled as he put his hand on her lower back pushing her forward and away from the funny scene. Crystal looked back as the two men were about to buy it for 1000 berries and a orange haired women punched them both on the heads and started yelling at them. Another man opened up a curtain revealing a person painting apples gold.

"Roronoa Zoro." Crystal whispered recognizing him from the wanted posters.

Ace and Crystal walked up to a fortune telling woman to see if she has seen Teach when she said no Ace decided to ask about something else.

"I'd like to ask you something. Have you seen this man?" Ace asked pushing Luffy's poster towards her.

"Eh? Monkey D. Luffy?" She asked herself.

"There's a chance he might be in this town. I've been looking around here for a while now." Crystal told her. Crystal turned when she heard people gasp a ways from her; she saw the same people before that were putting on the funny scene. She gave them a smile as Roronoa Zoro glared at her.

"I've never seen him. Oh, yes if you're looking for someone, maybe you should try the restaurant down the way." The fortune teller told them. "The master there is well connected around town."  
"Thank you," Ace told her bowing slightly.

"Ah, yes, thank you." Crystal repeated ripping her gaze from the people.

"A restaurant, eh?" Ace said thinking about it. "I was getting hungry anyways."  
"You're always hungry," Crystal pointed out as they walked towards the restaurant.

They grabbed some food….actually Crystal had a plate of food, while Ace had about fifty… when suddenly Ace had a narcoleptic attack and fell asleep face first into his food once again. People began to gather around inside and out of the restaurant in worry and fear. Watching as Ace lay there with his fork still up in the air where he was about to put it in his mouth.

"Hey, what's going on? What happened?" A man asked walking up to another.

"It seems a customer suddenly died in there." The other explained.

"Suddenly died?" The other asked again unbelieving.

"He appears to have died while conversing with the master of the restaurant." Another man gossiped.

"He's a traveler. Everyone's saying he may have unwittingly eaten a Desert Strawberry."

"A Desert Strawberry?"

"It's a poisonous breed of spider which resembles a strawberry. If you happen to eat on, you'll just suddenly die a few days later. And then after a few hours, a contagious poison will spread from the corpse. That's why no one's getting near him."

"In the desert, what you don't know can kill you. Just look at the way his arm was lifting the beef to his mouth. He just froze like that."

"This shows just how powerful the poison of the Desert Strawberry is."

Crystal ate the last bite on her plate, and then chugged down her water as people noticed her sitting next to him.

"Hey, girl! You shouldn't sit so close! I know he was your friend, but it's too dangerous now." A man told her trying to wave her over.

"It's fine," She told him.

All of them stared at Ace and Crystal in horror, awaiting the eminent death that brings the poison to come. Ace shoots up out of his food making the bystanders scream in fear at the man they presumed dead.

"HE CAME BACK TO LIFE!" They all scream.

Crystal busts up laughing at the reaction of the people. Ace blinks as the narcolepsy is trying to fade out. The master of the restaurant, a man, and a woman appear close to Ace to check it out in wonder. Ace looks around at all of them and Crystal still going on her laughter fit.

"A-Are you okay?" The woman asks him.

Ace lifts her skirt up to wipe his face making her scream.

"Stop it!" Crystal says stopping her laughing fit and punching him on the head.

The woman runs off as Ace faces the master again.

"Man. Damn, I fell asleep again." Ace said groaning.

"YOU FELL ASLEEP?!" They all yell at him in anger.

Crystal face palms herself as she shakes her head in amazement. She tries to stop from laughing again as everyone stares at him with awe.

"That's not possible!" A man yells. "In the middle of a meal and conversation?"

Ace continued to eat as a man points out that he just continues on.

"Anyhow, what are you guys worked up over?" Ace asks them with a full mouth.

Crystal smacks him on the head again. "You fell asleep out of nowhere again."

"WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" The men yell making Crystal bust up laughing again.

"You hire comedians or something?" Ace asks the master as he points his thumb at them.

"Well, no…but if you're okay, that's good." The master said confused.

Ace fell back into his food again as the men yell at him not to fall asleep again. Crystal catches her breathing as everyone leaves in disappointment.

"I'll wake him," She told the master. "Ace," She says gently, she lifts her fist and smashes it onto his head. "WAKE UP!"

Ace shoots up looking around again, he looks at Crystal and reaches out towards her.

"No you don't." Crystal says handing him a napkin.

Ace finished his food finally and grabbed his brother's poster out of his backpack.

"This guy hasn't come to this town has he?" Ace asks him showing the poster to the master. "A pirate wearin' a straw hat."

"I guess you don't have a problem with eating in public." A voice said behind them. "Commanders of the Whitebeard pirates, Second Division. Portgas D. Ace. Tenshi No Crystal."

Ace smirked as Crystal turned to Smoker with a smile. "Smokey!"

"Whitebeard?! The Whitebeard Pirates?!" The master yells in fear.

"That dumbass guy, and innocent looking girl are part of the Whitebeard Pirates?!"

"I knew I'd seen that mark before! It's definitely the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"What business does infamous pirates like you have in this country?" Smoker asks facing Crystal.

Ace set's his cup down and faces smoker finally with a smirk.

"We're searching." Crystal says plainly.

"For my little brother," Ace continued

Ace and Crystal smile at Smoker as he tries to stare them down.

"So then, what should I do?" Ace asks jokingly.

"Sit there and let me arrest you." Smoker says seriously.

"Rejected!" Crystal yells with a smile.

"I'd rather not," Ace says watching Smoker casually.

"Well, that's what I expected." Smoker said. "Right now, I'm looking for a different pirate. I'm not really interested in your heads."

"Then let us go," Ace reasons.

"I can't do that," Smoker says lifting his fist up, transforming his arm into smoke. "As long as I'm a Marine and you're a pirate."

"What a dumb reason," Crystal said pouting her lips.

Ace looks up with a devious look on his face as he smirks evilly. "Shall we have some fun then?"

Crystal smirks as she braces herself ready for a fight.

"GOMU GOMU NO…." A voice yells. Crystal quirks an eyebrow at the voice as Smoker and Ace don't hear it from being too entranced in the stare off. "…ROCKET!"

A body flies through the air and smashes into Smoker's back making Smoker's face turn to pain. The hit sends him flying forward and into Ace who was now bugging his eyes out; they fly through walls of multiple buildings as smoke covers the impacts. Crystal stares in shock at the whole that has formed.

"A restaurant! I finally found one!" A familiar voice yells. "Now I can eat! I'm starving!"

Crystal turns to see Luffy standing there pumping his fists in the air; her jaw drops as Luffy darts to the seat on the other side of her and begs the master for food. Luffy grins from ear to ear in his usual fashion as he smashes and clangs his knife and fork on the table and together.

Luffy shovels down food as everyone stares at him in confusion, surprise, and fear, wondering who the heck he is. The master tries to tell Luffy to run as he asks if Luffy knows who he sent flying; of course Luffy is completely oblivious and just stares at the huge whole that he created.

Crystal shakes her head as Luffy doesn't know how the hole gets there. The people in the restaurant rush out as Ace walks in and notices Luffy sitting there eating. Ace's face goes from irritation to joy as a smile spreads across his face. Ace tries to yell out to Luffy, but is interrupted as Smoker smashes his face into the ground.

"MUGIWARA!" Smoker yells jumping over Ace. Luffy continues on shoving food into his mouth as Smoker walks up to him. "I've been looking for you, Mugiwara. I knew you'd come here to Arabasta.

Luffy continues to eat the food making Smoker irritated and having him yell at Luffy to stop eating. Crystal reaches over and pinches Luffy's cheek.

"Luffy, you should really stop eating. Haven't I told you to slow down when you eat?" Crystal says. Luffy looks over towards her in surprise as he recognizes the action and voice.

"Crystal!" Luffy swallows his food and smiles from ear to ear. "Hold on,"

Luffy continues to eat making Crystal sweat drop at his action. Finally Luffy spits his food out at Smoker in realization as to who he was.

"You're that smokey guy!" Luffy said making Crystal chuckle. "What are you doing here?!" Smoker glares at Luffy and is about to walk forward to pummel Luffy when Luffy holds up a hand to stop him. "Wait a minute."

Crystal watches as Luffy stretches his arms out, brings all the food close to him, and swallows it all in one gulp. Luffy thanks him for the meal, grabs Crystal and takes off running away from Smoker.

"Luffy! Hold on!" Crystal yells at him.

Luffy races through the streets with Crystal on his shoulder as Smoker closes in on him. Smoker calls for his partner to get Luffy and Crystal. She races forward as she slashes her sword at Luffy; Crystal yells as Luffy jumps into the air and rebounds off a building to reach the roof and takes off running once again. Smoker followed after Luffy with his smoke; Luffy yells at him that he was just here to beat up a guy named Crocodile. Smoker unleashed his smoke to capture Luffy and Crystal when Luffy falls down an alleyway between buildings narrowly escaping the smoke.

Crystal gets up and hugs the wall as Smoker looks around the rooftops for them. Luffy gets up and grabs Crystal again as he runs down the streets. This time Smoker saw him and chased after them once again. Marines chase after them as Luffy spots his crew; he runs towards them, but keeps on running as the Marine's are now after all of them.

"White Blow!" Smoker yells as his arm of smoke flashes towards them.

Luffy tries to run faster as the smoke catches up with him.

"Sometimes you're a really big pain." Crystal told Luffy. She pushes away from him and stands in the way of the smoke arm and Luffy. She snaps her fingers and fire bullets attack smokers arm putting cuts into it.

"Kagerou!" Ace yells. The fire engulfs the smoke completely making it disappear as Ace jumps down and grabs Crystal's waist to pull her close. The fire swirls around them then clears revealing Ace and Crystal standing there.

"Give it up. You may be smoke, but I am fire." Ace says holding his other hand out with flames licking off of it. "With our abilities, a fight would be pointless."

"They have Devil Fruit abilities!" Zoro gasps.

"Who the hell are those two?" Usopp asks.

"Crystal! Ace!" Luffy says in shock.

"You never change Luffy. Still can't protect Crystal yet." Ace says turning his head to smirk at Luffy.

"Ace…It's Ace and Crystal!" Luffy yells in awe. "Since when did you eat a Devil's Fruit?"

"Yeah, the Mera Mera Fruit." Ace tells him. "Anyway we can't talk like this! I'll catch up later! You guys run for it! Luffy I'm leaving it up to you to protect Crystal for now!"

Luffy stretches his arms out and grabs Crystal as him and his crew take off running towards their ship.

"But Luffy!" The orange haired girl yells.

"Who the hell is that? And who is this lovely lady here?" A blonde man with a cigarette asks.

Luffy laughed as he carried Crystal on his shoulder once again. "He's my brother! And she's my sister!"

Crystal almost laughed as she saw the looks of shock and fear on their faces. Zoro looked at her in shock as he looked closely at her, sizing her up; she rolled her eyes at him and hung onto Luffy for dear life.


	11. Temporary Crewmates

**One Piece (c) Eichiro Oda. OC's (c) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal.**

**R&R, please enjoy! Chapter 11**

* * *

"W-What's that!?" A man yells.

"A fire?"

"Pfft, show off." Crystal says looking up at the tornado of fire and smoke.

The others turned around to face what the people were talking about.

"What do you think is going on?" Chopper asked.

"A battle between fire and smoke?" Usopp asked looking at it.

"He said he ate the Mera Mera Fruit." Sanji said remembering.

"But Luffy, is that true? Is that guy really your brother? Is she really your sister?" Nami asked Luffy unbelieving.

"You know I can talk right?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah! He's Ace! She's Crystal!" Luffy answered not hearing what Crystal said.

"Well I'm not surprised you have a brother or a sister, but what are they doing on the Grand Line?" Zoro asks him.

"We're pirates." Crystal answers him pushing away from Luffy. "We left two years before Luffy in search of One Piece."

His crew stared at her in shock as Luffy and Crystal did identical huge smiles towards each other.

"A-anyway we should get out of here!" Nami said.

The crew started to leave as Crystal and Luffy walked backwards watching the fire and smoke battle for dominance, and exploded in a huge burst when neither could.

"But I never thought I'd met you and Ace in a place like this!" Luffy told Crystal.

Crystal smiled as she looked back up to the sky. She heard Nami tell everyone to go left, but when Crystal tried to go Luffy grabbed her arm and dragged her to the right pointing to the pillar in the sky made by Ace and Smoker.

"That's strange," Luffy complained as he sat on his barrel of water. "Why are we the only two here?"

"Because you dragged us the opposite way of your crew! You idiot!" Crystal yelled at him, but sighed as he gave her that innocent oblivious look he always has.

"Jeez, you don't even look like your TRYING to escape." Ace said on top of a roof.

Luffy looked around for him until finally he looked up and spotted him. Luffy smiled from ear to ear as Ace jumped down next to Crystal and threw his arm around her.

"Don't be so mad at him." Ace said.

Crystal huff at him as she turned the other way; Ace smirked as he let her go and faced Luffy.

"Long time no see, Luffy." Ace said looking at his little brother.

"Same to you, Ace." Luffy said leaning on his knees.

Ace laughed as Luffy jumps down from the barrel on the other side and both clasped hands as they put their elbows on the barrel. Crystal turned to watch them with a smile; she chuckled as they looked at each other ready to wrestle.

"How many years has it been?" Luffy asks with a small laugh and smile.

"Dunno. But Luffy, you've still got that whole 'my pace' thing." Ace told him with a smile. "You haven't changed a bit from when you were a kid."

They started to press on each other's arms starting the battle. "Neither have you Ace," Luffy said straining to push on Ace's arm. "I was surprised to hear you ate a Devil's Fruit, but nothing else about you has changed." Luffy started to push Ace's arm towards the barrel as Ace strained to keep his arm from touching. "Like that time you snuck into the farmer's field, ate a hundred watermelons, then spat the seeds out like a cannon and ran!"

Ace pushed back on Luffy's arm putting his brother's arm closer to the barrel now. "That wasn't me! That was you!"

"Then he gave you that huge lump on your head!" Luffy grunted with a smile.

"That was you too." Ace pointed out. "I was laughing the whole time."

Crystal wanted to stop them as their faces were turning red with the strain of pushing their arms with all their strength, but couldn't put herself up to stopping this brotherly love showdown. They strained so hard the barrel busted underneath their arms as they stood up and kept their hands clasped.

"I guess we're both still the same." Luffy said.

"Yeah," Ace says as they switch hands to give each other a high five.

"Sure brings back memories!" Luffy says. "Like when we did this to see who would get Crystal that day."

Crystal froze and narrowed her eyes at the boys; she sighed and chuckled as Luffy and Ace flashed smiles at her.

"But, your nakama are probably looking for you." Ace told him as he dug into his bag and brought out a canteen.

"But Ace, what are you doing in this country?" Luffy asks him.

"Didn't you get my message in Drum?" Ace asks him confused as he unscrews the lid to the canteen and takes a swig.

"In Drum?" Luffy asks.

"Ah, well it doesn't matter. It wasn't important anyways." Crystal said walking up and taking the canteen from Ace.

"We have some minor business to take care of in this part of the ocean." Ace told him.

Crystal looked at Ace with a side glance wondering if he's going to tell Luffy about Blackbeard.

"I figured I'd try to meet up with you." Ace continued to say as he took another drink from the canteen.

"Minor business?" Luffy asked pressing on.

Crystal decided she would tell Luffy. "We're with the Whitebeard Pirates now."

Ace wiped his mouth as he tossed Luffy the canteen next. "Whitebeard Pirates?" Luffy asked.

"This is the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates." Ace said as he showed Luffy his back and Crystal showed Luffy her hip. "My greatest Pride. Luffy, how about joining the Whitebeard Pirates? Your nakama, of course, too."

Luffy drank the water from the canteen, but stopped when Ace asked him that.

"No." Luffy plainly told him as Ace and Crystal began to laugh.

"Yeah, thought so. Just thought I'd ask." Ace said as he put his hand on his hat and looked at Luffy. "Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've ever known. I've decided to make that man the pirate king. Not you, Luffy."

"So what? It's just one more person I'll have to fight." Luffy said with a smirk. "What about you Crystal? Why did you join?"

"Oh? You don't know? Whitebeard is the father I was telling you about that took me in." Crystal told him.

Luffy stared at her and Ace, then a smile broke onto his face again. "Oh, well. I'M going to become the pirate king!"

Ace started to yell at Luffy as he chugged all the water out of the canteen. They began walking around as Ace and Luffy tried to figure out where his crew and ship were docked at. Crystal walked between the two, blocking them out as she let the breeze blow through her hot coat. She decided once she got to the ship, she was going to take it off. Luffy told them about his nakama and what their goal was on the grand line, till finally they stopped as bounty hunters surrounded them.

"As you can see, there is no way out." A huge bounty hunter said looking at them. "Fire Fist Ace, Tenshi no Crystal, your heads are ours. Prepare to die."

Ace, Luffy, and Crystal stared at them with dull eyes as they didn't see much thrill in fighting these weaklings.

The bounty hunter reveled in how lucky he was to not only have Fire Fist Ace, but also Straw Hat Luffy and Tenshi No Crystal. They passed by him, ignoring that he was even there.

"Hey, you three!" A teammate of the bounty hunters called out.

The men surrounding them rushed forward as their boss commanded them to kill Ace, Crystal and Luffy. Luffy dodged two men going after him with swords and finally kicked one in the face as he jumped on the other knocking them to the floor. Ace dodge more men with swords as he sweeper kicked one and jumped up using one man's head to push him up into the air as the other swiped out at him with a sword. Crystal dodged three men with swords as she rolled on her heal to kick one in the head and jumped using that man as a log to do a handstand in the air, kicking one man in the nose with her toes and the other in the nose with her heal as she came back down.

Tons of men crowded around Luffy and tried to hold him down; Luffy stretched his arms up and hung onto the clothes line and flung himself up knocking all of the men away from him. They shot at Luffy as the bullets stretched with his skin.

"Don't scare me like that you bastards!" Luffy yelled as the bullets were flung right back at them.

The men became too scared to fight back as the boss grabbed one of his swords and charged towards Luffy, then changing his course to Crystal once he got close enough. He almost hit Crystal with his sword as Ace grabbed it and glared at the man. He heated up his hand making the sword too hot to hold.

"GOMU GOMU NO," Luffy began to yell as he stretched his arms back. "BAZOOKA!" Luffy's arms rebounded into the man sending him flying far away until he couldn't be seen anymore.

Ace reached out his arm to press on Crystal's lower back telling her they were going, as the three of them left the men filled with fear. They walked to the end of the town as the bounty hunters finally chased after them.

"Oi, I'm over here!" Luffy yelled waving his hand.

"Oi, Luffy, go on…" Ace was about to tell Luffy as his brother jumped over the side onto a lower part of the steps. "He ain't listening."

"No he is not." Crystal said with a chuckle.

Luffy stretched his arm to the ship until he got a hold of it; he looked up at Crystal as he stretched his arm and grabbed her before he flung himself towards the ship, crashing into Chopper and Sanji while doing so.

"Hey now." Usopp grumbled as he watched Luffy get up and laugh as he rubbed his head.

"Sorry about that, Sanji, Chopper." Luffy said laughing some more.

Sanji sat up quickly grabbing Luffy's collar and shaking him. "Bastard, don't you know your own strength? I oughta throw you overboard!"

"He's right! Don't you know how much trouble you've caused us? Try acting a little more like a captain!" Nami complained.

"Sorry." Luffy said looked up at her.

"Sanji-san." Vivi said quietly as she pointed at him.

"Hm?" Sanji said looking at her.

Crystal grumbled finally making everyone look; as Luffy landed Crystal ended up crashing into Sanji and grabbing Chopper before Luffy crashed. Crystal was leaning against Sanji as she sat in front of him with Chopper in her lap.

"Oh! My dear Angel! I'm so sorry!" Sanji said as he looked at Crystal. Crystal looked up at him with her blue eyes as her last hair tie broke and let her hair fall around her shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

Crystal didn't hear him as she looked down at Chopper and kissed his forehead to heal him. Everyone's jaw dropped as Chopper woke up, jumped out of her lap, and stared at her in fear; he stopped when he checked himself and found no injuries.

"How did you do that?" Chopper asked her looking over him again. "There's no injuries."

"I just healed you, that's all." Crystal said shrugging as if it was nothing. Crystal looked down at her hair tie and pouted as she looked at Luffy. She raised her fist and pounded it once against his head. "That was my last hair tie Luffy!"

Luffy grinned as he rubbed his head again; Crystal sighed as she stood up.

"It's too hot to get onto you," She said. She undid her coat and let it drop as Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and Zoro got a nosebleed from her micro outfit.

"Oh, that's right. Ace!" Luffy said running to the side of the ship.

"Your brother was with you?" Sanji asked fawning over Crystal as she asked where she could put her coat for now.

Nami hit Sanji as Vivi took her coat for her.

"You sure we should just leave him?" Usopp said as him and Zoro joined the group.

"Well, he'll be fine. Ace is strong." Luffy said.

"Yep, much stronger than you." Crystal says stretching Luffy's cheeks out.

"Is he really that strong?" Chopper asked with wonder as he looked up at Crystal.

"Yep! Even before he ate the Mera Mera fruit." Crystal told Chopper picking him up.

"No matter how much we fought, I never beat him once!" Luffy said with a smile. "Ace is REALLY strong!"

"You never won once? Against a normal human?" Nami asks amazed.

"Whoever said they were normal?" Crystal laughed.

"So, the brother of a monster turns out to be a SUPER monster." Usopp says.

"Pretty much," Crystal said laughing hard.

"Yeah, even I had a tough time!" Luffy said. "We were always fighting over who would get Crystal!"

Crystal punched Luffy's head as the other's jaws dropped. "I still can't believe you guys did that. I have my own free will you know!"

"Who would want to try and control such a lovely angel as you~" Sanji lulled as hearts appeared in his eyes and he wiggled around Crystal.

Nami hit Sanji again for Crystal as Crystal put Chopper down and looked at Luffy. "You probably still couldn't beat him."

"Oh yeah? I say if we fought now, I'D win!" Luffy said smirking.

"And just who can you beat?" Ace yelled as he jumped onto the railing of the ship pushing Luffy forward and crouching behind Crystal.

"Oh, Ace," Luffy said smiling. "These are the nakama's I was telling you two about!"

"Hello, everyone!" Both Crystal and Ace said as they bowed.

"I trust my little brother has been in your care." Ace said still bowed.

"Yes, he has." Everyone said bowing back to the two.

Ace sat up smiling as he faced them. "He has no manners, so he'll probably end up burning your hands a few times."

"Yes, he has." Everyone said again.

"I entrust him to you." Crystal said bowing to him with a smile.

"For now, you've probably got some small talk to share. Wanna come inside? I'll make some tea." Sanji offered.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. But I appreciate your consideration." Ace said politely.

"And what about you my beautiful angel~" Sanji said reverting again.

"Actually, if it's not too much trouble," Crystal said looking at him. "if I could have something cold to drink. That coat got really hot while I was wearing it."

"Yes my angel~" Sanji said. In a flash he was back with a nice Iced Tea for Crystal.

"Thank you." Crystal told him.

Ace smiled as he pointed his finger to Sanji and lit his cigarette for him.

"Luffy," Ace said staring at his brother. Luffy looked up with a smile as Ace moved his body weight and kicked his brother in the head. "What have I told you about grabbing Crystal!? You should grab someone else's girl!" Ace grabbed Crystal and pulled her up onto his lap as he was still crouched on the side of the ship.

"Aw, but Ace!" Luffy whined. "I haven't seen Crystal since she left with you!"

Ace and Crystal looked at the crew and their shocked faces. "Our apologies for our rudeness on your ship." Both Crystal and Ace said as they bowed to the crew.

"T-This is totally unexpected." Usopp said stunned.

"Sure is…" Zoro added studying them.

"I thought the guy Luffy described would be some selfish, arrogant jerk!" Usopp explained. "And I thought his sister would be a spoiled girl who would whine about everything!"

"It's a lie!" Nami said watching them with her hands to her chest. "People this polite CAN'T be Luffy's brother and sister!"

"They're such a better person than their brother!" Zoro said shocked.

"Siblings are a wonderful thing!" Chopper said crying.

"It doesn't make sense. The sea is a mysterious place." Sanji said looking at them.

"See? Don't they crack you up?" Luffy said smiling.

"I like them!" Crystal said with a smile.

Luffy grinned from ear to ear as he reached his arms out for Crystal. "Why don't you let me hang onto you for once! It's always been Ace!" Luffy pouted as he wanted Crystal on his ship.

Zoro's attention was brought to the side of the ship as five huge ships with 'Baroque Works' was printed on their mast.

"Baroque Works! It's the Billions fleet!" Vivi said.

"Oh! It's them again!" Crystal said waving her hand in the air to them. She put her finger to her chin as she tried to remember that name. "Oh! Now I remember! Baroque Works tried to recruit me because of my parents!"

Ace looked at her and then turned his attention to the ships as he glared at them. "Luffy. I'll clean this up."

"No! I want to do this one! You did the last!" Crystal told him as she put her face in front of his and pouted.

He was going to argue until he looked at her face and sighed. "Fine, you can go with me."

She smiled widely as she set her drink down and Ace jumped down into his Striker with Crystal.

"What's he planning to do?" Nami asked.

"With that tiny boat…" Usopp said scrutinizing it.

Ace hung onto Crystal's waist keeping her above the flames as he made his feet set on fire and the Striker flew out.

"Let's just sit back and see how good these Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division Commanders really are." Zoro said as he remembered who they were.

Ace and Crystal sailed towards the ships quickly as Ace smirked. Crystal nodded her head as she dropped from Ace's hold and clung to the boat, just as Ace had jumped into the air sending the boat under water along with Crystal.

"He jumped!" Nami said amazed. "He sent her under water!"

Ace flipped over the ships as fire covered his lower half and pushed him past all the ships. They fired at him as he passed all the ships and landed just as Crystal and the boat aroused from the sea. Crystal stood up quickly and put her fingers in a gun style as she shot out a small fire bullet.

"That won't stop us!" The men laughed.

"We know," Crystal and Ace said as Ace grabbed her hand and they both snapped. The small bullet was now twice the size of the ships in a huge sphere as it crashed through all of them, completely destroying the ships. Ace pushed his hat up with a flaming finger smirking at their work.

Luffy's crew stared in awe at what they had just seen. Luffy stared with awe struck wonder as he saw Ace and Crystal standing before the remains of the boats.

"WOW!" Usopp yelled jaw unhinged.

Ace and Crystal climbed aboard the ship again as the others asked how they did that together. Crystal looks over the side of the ship to see some of the men climb onto Ace's Striker and pull out guns.

"Die!" One yelled as he fired his gun.

The bullets raced towards Crystal as Ace turned in shock.

"Crystal!" Luffy yelled.

The crew stood in shock as they watch Crystal standing in the same spot with bullets still spinning, but frozen in place inches from her face.

"How?!" The man asked.

"You guys are persistent." Crystal said. She rolled her wrist making wind come up and circle around her showing what had stopped the bullets. She made the bullets drop, then rolled her wrist again and waved it over the men as a wave came out of nowhere and took them under.

"How?" Nami asked confused.

"So it's true." Zoro said bringing everyone's attention to him. "Tenshi No Crystal, real name…"

"Ah wait!" Ace said trying to stop him.

"Hijiri Hikari Crystal." Zoro completed ignoring Ace.

"A Hijiri?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper screamed.

"Luffy did you know?" Nami asked frantically.

Luffy nodded with no emotion shown as if it didn't make any difference. "It doesn't matter who her parents are. Crystal is Crystal. All of you should understand that."

The crew froze at the arguments they wanted to say as they knew they all came from a bad background somehow.

"You shouldn't just judge someone." Ace said politely but threateningly.

"After all, she's my sister!" Luffy said with a smile.

Crystal grabbed onto Ace's arm and the back of Luffy's shirt as she looked up making the shadow across her face disappear. "It's okay. I understand if you don't like me because of what my parents do. But if it helps, they disowned me when I was a couple months old, and now my father is Whitebeard, not them."

"How does that help?!" Nami said laughing.

"Oh, I guess you're right. I forget people are scared of daddy." Crystal said rubbing her head.

"We're sorry. Luffy's right, we shouldn't judge." Nami said with an apologetic smile.

"You're welcome here anytime angel~" Sanji said with a kiss to her hand.

"How did you know I was a Hijiri anyway?" Crystal asked Zoro.

"It's a rumor going around bounty hunters that I have heard recently." Zoro explained as he walked off.

"This is great! Ace and Crystal are our nakama!" Usopp said as Chopper, Usopp and Luffy Kanpai'ed.

Somehow drinks were passed around as Ace sat on a barrel and Crystal sat on his lap watching them.

"Who said I'd be your nakama?" Ace asked.

They ignored Ace as they drank some of their drink then Kanpai'ed to delicious drinks. Crystal sweat dropped at their silly cheers.

"Don't worry about them." Nami said making the two of them look over. "These guys are always looking for a reason to Kanpai."

"Ace! Crystal! Are you really gonna be our nakama?" Luffy asked.

"We're in pursuit of a man." Ace told him taking a chug of his drink. "He's known as Blackbeard."

"Blackbeard?" Usopp asked.

"The pirate that sacked the Kingdom of Drum?" Vivi asked.

"He used to be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division." Crystal told them. "Our subordinate."

"Until he committed the greatest crime you can on a pirate ship." Ace said bringing up his knee beside Crystal and wrapping his arm around her waist hating to remember that night.

"What did he do?" Luffy asked enthralled by the story.

"He tried to murder Crystal and another crewmate and then fled the ship." Ace said making Luffy's eyes widen in fear. "As the commander I have to find him and finish him off."

"I made him take me along because I'm also the commander of the Second Division." Crystal explained before Luffy asked why she was here then. "I didn't want Ace to go alone."

Ace stared down at her surprised because he thought the reason she came along was because she wanted revenge.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

"Ace was so angry about Blackbeard that he wouldn't listen to anyone to stay on the ship. So instead of trying to convince him to stay, I convince him to let me come on the trip." Crystal explained.

"It's dangerous though!" Usopp said. "Especially if this Blackbeard was after you!"

"You do remember who my blood parents are, don't you?" Crystal said with a chuckle. Then stopped as she looked up at Ace and smiled. "I didn't want Ace to put only himself in danger. If I have to I'll save his butt."

Nami watched as Ace's arm tightened around Crystal and pulled her closer. She smirked as she watched Ace's eyes turn protective.

"The only reason why I came to this country is because he was reportedly seen in Yuba." Ace explained further.

"Then you're going to the same place we are heading." Nami said looking at Vivi.

Vivi pulled out a map showing Ace and Crystal the path they were taking for sailing and walking through the desert to get to there.

"Does that mean the beautiful angel will travel with us~" Sanji cooed as his body started wiggling.

Luffy laughed as he put out his drink. "Let's make this a fun trip, Ace, Crystal!"

Everyone clanked their drinks together as they cheered to be traveling together. Ace finished his drink and draped his other arm around Crystal's waist as he laid his chin on her head. Nami smirked devilishly watching the two of them.

"So, how long have you two been sleeping with each other?" Nami asked them.

Ace blushed fifty shades of red as Crystal looked at her. "Since the day I met Ace."

Nami fell over as everyone's faces turned red at the information.

"Yeah! I used to sleep with her and Ace too when we were little." Luffy said reminiscing.

"I hated it when you slept with us. You always kicked me or hit me." Crystal pouted.

"No, no. I don't mean that kind of sleeping together." Nami said. "What I mean is are you two in a relationship?"

"Depends on what you mean by relationship." Crystal said.

"Well I see you two are close." Nami said making Crystal nod. "Have you two kissed?"

Crystal thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "There was a time when Luffy knocked me into Ace, then another when Luffy knocked Ace into me. Ace used to kiss me so we could pose as a couple to the guards and Marines as we were hiding in alleys. And then before we left daddy's ship I kissed Ace to heal my wound."

Nami sweat dropped. "She's as oblivious as Luffy."

"Yeah, she is." Ace responded. Crystal looked from Nami to Ace in confusion making everyone laugh.

"Are you two a couple?" Nami asked serious.

"Me and Ace?" Crystal asked. She looked up at Ace. "You do know Ace is a womanizer right?" Ace almost fell off the barrel as Crystal said this making everyone else burst out laughing. "Beside's I don't think Ace like's me like that."

Ace stared down at her in shock; not because she thinks he doesn't like her in that way, but because she didn't say that SHE didn't like him in that way. Nami heard it too as she smirk at Ace when his cheeks tinged pink from the under lining meaning.

"Hey, are you….princess Nefertari Vivi?" Crystal asked facing Vivi.

The crew gasps in surprise as Crystal climbs out of Ace's lap to face her.

"H-How do you know that?" Vivi asks.

Crystal shrugs. "I don't know, you look like some pictures my brother used to show me of some people he met."

Vivi quirks an eyebrow at Crystal in confusion. "I thought Luffy and Ace were your brothers."

"No, I just grew up with them." Crystal said. Her face opened up into a big smile as she remembered her real older brother. "Takeru is my brother!"

"Takeru?" Vivi asked confused. As she said his name a picture of a man with short blond hair and blue eye's who was tall and muscular, but thin. "You're Takeru's sister?"

Crystal smiled as she nodded her head to Vivi.

Vivi's face went from fear to absolute joy. "Takeru used to tell me all about you!" Crystal looked at her confused in how that was possible. "Well not me exactly. He told my dad stories about you through Den Den Mushi and I use to listen. Before you were born Takeru told us that you were going to be born and one day we'd meet you and that you'd need our help."

"I don't think I need your help though." Crystal said thinking about any problem she might have.

"Maybe not now, but Takeru made us promise that we'd always be there to help you when you needed it." Vivi said with a smile. "It's good to finally meet you!" Vivi wrapped her arms around Crystal hugging her. Crystal held her arms out in surprise at the unexpected hug; finally she hugged Vivi back with a smile.

"Takeru is a great guy, he is always talking about you and your siblings." Vivi said. "I was always hearing the women in Arabasta talk about how they want to be that 'one girl' for Takeru, how good looking he was. What I remember was how positive he always was; he never said something bad, even when my father had problems, Takeru was there to help him solve it."  
Crystal smiled hearing someone talk about her brother like that; it had been so long since anyone ever said something nice about Takeru.

"You're brother seems like a nice guy." Nami said.

Crystal turned to see everyone listening to what Vivi was talking about her brother. She smiled at them with a kind, soft smile. "He was, no matter how scared, sad, or mad I felt, Takeru could always make me smile. He was like that with everyone."

"How is Takeru doing?" Vivi asked. "You should tell him to come visit again soon."

Crystal looked down sadly making Vivi look at her confused. "That won't happen Vivi."

"Why not?" She asked with a small laugh.

"Because Takeru, along with the rest of my siblings, were murdered when I was five." Crystal told them.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." Vivi said sadly. The others looked at her sadly as they realized they probably hurt her by asking about her brother.

"No, it's alright. It was good to hear someone say good things about my brother." Crystal said smiling at all of them. "We have been hated for so long that hearing something good was nice." Crystal laughed and told them to relax when none of them changed their expressions.

"It's getting late, we should get some sleep." Nami said. "Ace you can stay in the guys' room, and Crystal can stay with me and Vivi."

"Actually I'll probably just stay on the deck." Crystal said.

"Come on," Ace said picking Crystal up and started to follow the guys to their room.

"But Ace!" Nami said. "That's the guys' room!"

"I know." Ace said making Nami and Vivi sweat drop. "Crystal can't sleep unless I'm there."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard." Nami said unbelieving.

"It's true," Luffy said. "When we were little and Ace left for awhile Crystal wouldn't sleep until he got back."

They looked at Crystal questioningly. "I feel comfortable next to Ace."

The girls gave up and went to bed as Crystal curled up in the hammock with Ace. Ace blushed realizing how little room they have in the hammock; she was always close when she fell asleep next to him, but not this close. He was sure she could feel his heart beating quickly through his chest, and that she would feel how hot his body was becoming by her being this close. Her head was lying on his arm as her face was nestled into his neck, her body pressed tightly against his, and her one of her legs between his. He could feel her breathe on his neck, the heat of her body, the touch of her skin on his.

_Please let me make it through the night_ Ace thought to himself hoping it would help. He shivered as he heard her mumble his name in her sleep and felt her lips brush against his neck when she did. _This is going to be a long night_


	12. Journey Through the Desert

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**R&R**

**Enjoy! Chapter 12**

* * *

"Ace!" Crystal said shaking Ace gently. "Come on, wake up."

"I don't want to," Ace said pulling Crystal back down.

"It's already noon." Crystal said with a laugh.

Ace groaned as he got out of bed and followed Crystal outside. They went up to the kitchen and sat at the table watching Luffy and Usopp play with the onigiri.

"Heya! I am captain onigiri Usopp! Oh! And who might you be?"

"I am Meshidaru-san!"

Sanji smacked Luffy and Usopp on the head with frying pans as he yelled at them. "DON'T PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD! If you're so bored go wash some dishes! Jeez! Here I am trying to finish making our bento before we land up river!"

"Want me to help with anything?" Ace asked helpfully.

Sanji turned with a smile forgetting how polite Luffy's brother is. "Nah, you're a guest on our ship. Just sit back and take it easy."

Ace smirk evilly as his plan worked just as he wanted it to. Sanji turned to check on Luffy and Usopp and growl as he jumped over to them.

"YOU'RE WASHING THE DISHES WITH DIRTY RAGS!"

Crystal giggled as she walked over to Luffy and Usopp and took the rags from them. She laid them on a towel and grabbed clean ones as she finished the dishes quickly; something that would have taken the boys the whole day to do.

Luffy looked at her with tears running down his face. He launched himself at her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "THANK YOU CRYSTAL! I WOULD HAVE DIED IF I HAD TO DO THOSE!"

"Yeah, yeah." Crystal said ruffling his hair. Luffy smiled at her as she got back up and walked outside. "Sanji if you need any help just tell me, okay?"

"My beautiful angel shouldn't have to dirty her hands with things like that~" Sanji said twirling around her.

Crystal gave him a smile making his heart beat quickly before she walked outside joined by Ace, Luffy, and Usopp. She watched as Zoro swung a huge weight through the air and Chopper was using the wind to cool off. As Crystal walked around the weight almost hit her; she put her hand up and grabbed it gently before Zoro swung it again. Zoro grunted in effort trying to make it move and finally became frustrated when it didn't. He looked back to see Crystal hanging onto it with a finger.

"Wha-" Zoro said shocked. He glared as Crystal let go of the weight.

"Using more weights isn't going to help your swordsmanship." Crystal said.

"What would you know?" Zoro grumbled. He picked up his swords and started to clean them as Crystal walked over and took them away from him; she sat down and started to clean it properly and smiled as Zoro saw how she was doing it with awe.

"Careful letting someone you hardly know touch your swords." Crystal said handing them back to him.

He held them like he normally would in battle and looked at her. "You couldn't touch me if you tried. You're too weak to do anything to a man."  
Crystal narrowed her eyes. That was something she hated to hear; especially since people told her she was weak when her siblings were killed. "Weak huh?" She dashed forward quickly and before Zoro could blink she ducked under his arms and up to his chest. "Your weakness is the perimeter you have with your arms. Once somebody gets within your arm's they can hurt you as much as they want." Zoro dropped the sword out of his mouth in surprise as everyone froze watching the small battle. "If I wanted to I could kill you, but I'm not like my parents, I wouldn't do that." She moved her head till she was nose to nose with Zoro. "Don't call me weak."

She backed away from him and let a deep breath out. "Like I said, more than just weights help a swordsman in battle."

Crystal walked away as they docked for a quick moment by land as Vivi sent a letter with Carue. She went to the front of the boat as Ace talked to Zoro in the back. She sat on the figure head looking out at the sea wondering how her father is doing while her and Ace are away. They sailed out for awhile longer until they finally reached where they were going to walk from.

"We're finally here!" Luffy cheered/groaned.

"We're finally gonna walk on the desert!" Chopper yelled excitedly. "It must be pretty hot…"

"I heard temperatures go over 50 degrees C during the day." Nami told Chopper.

"What? Are you serious?" Chopper asked sliding down the stair railing.

Sanji's eyes bugged out of his head as he saw Nami in her long coat covering everything below her neck. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU NAMI-SWAN?! WHERE ARE YOUR DANCING GIRL CLOTHES?!" He looked over to Vivi and saw she did the same. "NOO! NOT VIVI-CHAN TOO!" He looked to Crystal hope flying in his heart, but it fell as he saw Crystal had done the same. "NOT THE BEAUTIFUL ANGEL!"

"But we'll be burned by the intense desert sun if we leave our skin exposed." Vivi reasoned with him.

Sanji pouted as he rolled about the floor feeling depressed that no skin is showing on the girls. Vivi handed Luffy an outfit to change into so he wouldn't get burned either. Zoro headed for the anchor next to Crystal sitting on the railing and she laughed when he had to reach with all his height to get over to the anchor. Zoro turned and glared at her but stopped as he saw her staring at the water with confusion; he looked down and did the same. Something jumped out of the water as it posed facing towards them.

"A turtle?" Zoro asked.

"No, maybe a seal?" Luffy wondered.

"Kung Fu Dugongs!" Vivi shouted.

Chopper translated for them as we listened in on what he said.

"I don't want to fight. I just want to get going." Crystal complained. She looked at them and jumped down in front of them. They look at her with a smile as they get in a fighting stance, she shook her head at them making them angry at her denial. They jumped towards her and took her coat hoping it would make her mad. The dugongs froze as they stared at Crystal's body; hearts filled their eyes as all the dugongs crowded around her and hugged her everywhere they could.

"'We never knew pirates had such an angelic looking person on their ship!' is what they said" Chopper translated.

"Hey! Don't touch my angel!" Sanji yelled at them making them glare at him.

Usopp jumped off the ship wanting to fight the dugongs, but instead was left on the ground with welts on his face. They went back to Crystal as she picked the leader up and rubbed her cheek on his making the dugong blush.

"He's so cute!" Crystal said.

"GRAH! THAT'S MY PLACE IN CRYSTAL'S HUG AND BEING CALLED CUTE!" Luffy said jealous. He jumped off the ship and punched the leaders head. "I won!"

They bowed to Luffy vowing to become his disciple; Vivi and Nami knew they couldn't take them along but found them really cute as they hung onto Luffy's legs and all over Crystal. Crystal had an idea as she gave them some of her food to hold them back while they left into the desert. They walked through the desert for a short time before they happened upon a town.

"What's this?" Zoro asked.

"Is this Yuba?" Luffy asks Vivi.

"No, this is Erumalu." She told him. "It was once known as the Green City."

"Green City?" Luffy asked looking around.

"Looking at this city, you can understand just how much the Baroque Works organization has done to this country." Vivi said facing them. "And just how much Arabasta's people are suffering."

Vivi told us the history of Erumalu as they passed and Crystal couldn't help but feel sorrow looking at the town. It reminded her too much of the town's and places her parents destroyed for power. Wind blew through the town of Erumalu making everyone stop as groans and moans were heard all around them.

"What is that?" Nami asked. "Are those people?"

"Is it the rebel army?" Chopper asks worriedly.

"Could it be assassins from Baroque Works?" Usopp asks looking panicked.

Everyone looked around either panicked or ready for attack. Crystal looked forward as she clenched her fists. "No, it's just the wind."

"It sounds like people." Luffy points out.

"What do we do?" Usopp asked Crystal.

"It's not dangerous." She told him with faint smile. "The winds are passing through the town and reverberating among the building ruins. It's the city's way of crying."

Vivi stared at Crystal as if she was reading her mind. The wind blew their hoods off making their hair fly in the wind. The wind pick up greatly as it blew around the; Crystal squinted against the sand being thrown at her and saw a dark shadow that cried out. She opened her eyes to look just as the wind passed by them; she saw Luffy looking the same way as she was. Luffy turned and ran towards something flying in the wind trapped on the ground. When they got close enough they saw it was a skeleton lying there with its coat on.

"Destroying the lives of the people who have struggled against nature to live in this desert." Vivi said as she kneeled down and touch the skeleton. "Why? What right does he have to do this? He acts as though he is the hero of the people as one of the Shichibukai. And no one realizes that this man is deceiving the kingdom! I will never forgive that man!"

Luffy's anger bubbled over as he stretched his arm out and punched a building, crumbling it's walls and making it topple over. Ace dug a hole in the sand as Vivi laid the remains inside for a burial; maybe not a proper one, but one that's better than lying there in the sand. Ace stuck a stick as a headstone to mark where it was.

"Vivi!" Luffy said getting her attention. "We need to move forward! We've been sitting here too long!"

"To destroy a building like that," Vivi said shaking.

Luffy stopped as he stared at her in confusion.

"This city deserves to be treated better, not to lie in ruin and then be toppled over by an angry man!" Vivi yelled at him.

Vivi charged forward towards Luffy, but Crystal stops her holding her in a hug.

"Vivi, he's right. We need to get moving." Crystal told her.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?" Vivi yells at her. "OF ALL PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW THIS FEELS!"

Crystal smacks Vivi across her face making her come to her senses. "You're right, I do know how it feels. I grew up seeing what towns and countries my parents destroy, the people my parents have killed, and the kingdoms they've deceived. And for what? Their power?" Crystal clenches her teeth as she looks at the stick in the ground. "You think Crocodile is bad? You try seeing what my parents have done. You're sitting here talking about how this place has gone to ruins, how no one can live here every again. What kind of princess are you!?"

Vivi looked at her shocked as Crystal's eyes flashed red with anger. Crystal clenched her fists calming herself down. "You're not alone Vivi, look at the people here now with you. They're willing to fight with you to get you're kingdom back. Don't look at places like this as places that will never be lived in again, as failures. Look at these as hope that town's like this are still fighting on so people can live in the again one day. Come, let's go to Yuba."

Crystal held out her hand for Vivi as tears had sprung to her friend's eyes. Vivi grabbed Crystal's hand as she looked out around the town. "I'll persuade the Rebel Army's Leader to stop the uprising!"

They continued to walk as Ace smiled at Crystal, but saw how much pain she was in looking at the town back there. Ace frowned as he looked at her again; even though he has known her his whole life, he hardly knows anything about her past or about how she grew up before meeting him.

Crystal laughed as she watch Luffy complain about how hot it is right then and how he's not even sweating even more. She looked at Ace and saw it wasn't even fazing him in the least; on the other hand as she looked over at Chopper he was dying in these heat so much that Zoro had to tout him along. The heat was getting to everyone as Usopp kept making fun of Chopper, Chopper would lose his temper, causing him to change into his human form, Usopp would yell that he's a monster, and Zoro would yell at him not to change or he wouldn't pull him anymore. Luffy wanted water and kept complaining until Vivi let him, when he did he almost drank all the water in one go, making Nami lose her temper and smack him, causing him to spit it out. A war broke loose between them about the water as Crystal sighed and walked over to Chopper. She took her coat off and waved her hand on the inside of it making thick ice sheets cover it; she laid it on top of Chopper and heard a relieved sigh as the heat was relieved off of the reindeer.

"Oi! What did you do?" Zoro asked as he had to pull harder to move the reindeer along.

"Here," Crystal said walking up to him as he stopped. She reached up and put her hand on the back of his neck; she began to create ice on his neck, head and cheeks.

Zoro looked up and found Ace glaring at him as Crystal ran her hands around his neck and face. Zoro smirked at him evilly as he asked Crystal to chill more in some places.

"Crystal, what are you doing?" Nami asked as she looked over.

"Putting some ice on Zoro's neck, I put ice in my coat to lay it on Chopper and I knew it would be heavy so I offered to cool Zoro off by putting ice on his neck." Crystal explained. She saw the restrained pleads from the girls as she looked at them and noticed everyone else looking at her the same; that is except for Ace. She sighed and smiled as she walked to them one by one creating a layer of ice to keep them cooled off.

"I can't do much because there isn't enough water here." Crystal said looking around.

"Water?" Luffy asked perking up. "You can make water?"

"Um, I don't know." Crystal said already feeling her energy drain from forcefully bringing water out to make ice. She looked at Luffy and saw him crying as he pleaded with her to make some water for the barrel. "Fine." She twirled her hands in the air and slowly water began to form; the others stared in wonder as the water grew the longer her hands twirled. Ace began to see sweat drip down her neck and her face scrunched in concentration; she dropped the water in the barrel getting smiles from everyone.

"Wow!" Usopp said looking at the full barrel now. "Can you do mine?"

Crystal went to go walk towards him when she stumbled backwards only to land into a hard chest.

"That's enough," Ace told her.

Finally Vivi and Nami looked at her face and saw how drained she looked. "Oh, Crystal we're sorry." Vivi apologized.

"I'm fine," Crystal said smiling. "The heats just getting to me."

Ace took off his jacket and laid it around Crystal as he ushered her onto his back by crouching down. She climbed onto his back as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and her legs around his waist. He held her up by slipping his hands under her butt and locking his fingers together; she laid her cheek down on his shoulder as her forehead hit his neck.

"Really, we didn't mean to exhaust you." Nami said walking closer to her and Ace.

Crystal looked up and put her chin on Ace's shoulder, leaning her head against his. "I told you I'm fine. I just wish I could do more."

"No, you've done more than we could hope for." Vivi said bowing her head.

They walked on as Crystal rested on Ace's back; they kept on until night began to fall and they began to set up camp before it fully came. Crystal got off of Ace's back and helped saying she felt much better to reassure him; she gave him back his jacket and began to work on the tents with the boys. Everyone huddled around the fire as night fell and the freezing cold burst in removing the heat. Chopper got mad when Usopp said he was using him as a heater, but Zoro complained that he was too when Luffy tackled him to the floor. Crystal laughed at the sight as she had climbed onto a rock and started to look up at the moon.

Crystal remember the nights she sat up with her brother and just stared at the stars and moon as her brother told her stories upon stories about his life, other people's lives, or even just made up lives.

Ace sat by the tent watching the group try to warm up and at Crystal who looked up at the stars so warmly that he had to smile. But the thoughts about not knowing her pried at him as he watched her and wondered why she looked at the stars that way. More thoughts pried into his brain as to why he had to bring her on such a dangerous mission; he realizes he was being stupid letting her come and putting her in danger, for what, his pride?

"Aren't you surprised?" Vivi said interrupting his thoughts and making him look up. "About Luffy-san. I was surprised at first too. Luffy doesn't act like a captain." Vivi said as she stared at Luffy wrestling with Chopper, Zoro, and Usopp. "It's normal for a captain to be revered by his crew, and yet only this afternoon, they fought so much just because he drank some water. But you know what? After being together with them for so long, I've begun to understand them a little." Ace and Vivi remember earlier this afternoon as she looks at them again to find them all huddled up asleep.

"That's Luffy's way of doing things." Ace said smirking. "He hasn't changed a bit from when he was a kid. Even though he's like that, people have always gathered around him. He's a dumb little brother, but he has a strange charm."  
"Oh, so you already knew." Vivi said happily.

"I've known him a long time." Ace said looking at Luffy from under his hat. "But, thank you." Vivi looked at him questioningly. "You were worried whether or not I was concerned about him."

"Yes," She said smiling. "But it seems I was thinking of the wrong person then huh?"

Ace looked up at her to find her looking at Crystal.

"Crystal is a lot like Luffy. She may be a daughter of the infamous Hijiri family, but people still gather around her." Vivi said. "I was never scared of her because she was always smiling. Even Luffy has his moments where he doesn't smile; but to be through what she has, to smile would impossible to most people. Her brother never exaggerated about how her smile is like the light in a dark room; it brightens any place."

"Yeah, she takes so many burdens on herself that I'm dreading the day she collapses from it and can't get back up." Ace tells her with worry on his face. "Sometimes I wish she would just open up about everything."

"You don't think she has?" Vivi asked him. Vivi watch his face look back at her confused and she smiled. "When her brother told us about Crystal he always talked about how she hated to be around people, especially men, because of how cruel they were to her. She wouldn't talk to them, get close to them, or even look them in the eye. Though she was always smiling and being positive she never liked to be around people. Her brother said she hardly even went close to him; he told us how she's always been solitary." Vivi looked up at Crystal and smiled as Crystal almost dozed off on top of the rock. "I think if Crystal acts the way she did on the ship all the time towards you, she has opened up. You have to remember though, if you went through what she did growing up, would you want to tell somebody and relive it?" Vivi sighed as she looked at Ace again. "Cherish what you have with Crystal, don't worry about her past, after all I bet you haven't told her your whole past have you?"

Ace watched as Crystal climbed down from the rock and check her coat that had been soaked from the melted ice; she sighed meaning it was still wet as she looked around. She spotted Ace and smiled as she walked over to him, arms wrapped around herself trying to keep warm. She reached him as Vivi told them both good night and climbed into the tent; Crystal stood there in front of Ace waiting for him to say something. She pouted as he didn't say anything and began to walk off making Ace remember Vivi's words. He reached out and hooked his finger in her shorts pulling her down into his lap; he wrapped his coat around her as he slid his arms out of his sleeve into the inside of his jacket. She smiled up at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder.

He looked at her hair that has been down since arriving on Luffy's ship and remembered what he had in his pocket all this time. He rustled in his pocket for what he was looking for and finally grabbed Crystal arm and brought it out of his coat so she could see. He tied a black ribbon around her wrist into a bow so it didn't fly away.

"What is this for?" Crystal asks looking up at him.

"I had gotten it as an apology when you and Thatch went on the mission." Ace said looking away to hide his blush. "But I kept forgetting to give it to you. It's to hold your hair up."

Crystal noticed the blush on his face and her heart speed up with joy at the look, she looked down at the ribbon and smiled wide as her heart wanted to burst with emotion. She looked thoughtfully at the ribbon; she reach her hand up and cupped his cheek as she kissed the other. Her eyes widened in realization at what she had done and blushed as she looked back at the ribbon. _This feeling….Marco and Thatch…they called it….love_ Crystal couldn't believe what she was feeling, she grew up with Ace, how could she be in love with him? But as she thought about it she has always felt this way for him, it has just grown stronger over the years._ I'm…in love…with Ace?_ Crystal leaned back against him and thought about how she never let anyone get this close to her and still won't, not even her brother. She felt comfortable, safe, like she didn't have to on alert all the time, warm, and that she didn't have to be scared. _I can't tell him how I feel. It may ruin our relationship._ Crystal thought to herself as she fell asleep on Ace.

Ace looked down at her as she drifted off to sleep; she had just kissed him!_ It was just a thank you_. Ace told himself as he looked out at the sky. _She can't possibly feel the same way I do about her._ Ace thought about how he felt when she was close. He always wanted her close, that's all he had to say; he may have been a womanizer and gone after all the women, but it was always a one night stand, he never let them get close. He always wanted to reach out for Crystal and feel her close, to know she was safe and in his arms. He thought of the way she was always willing to be in his arms and how it felt so right; like she was a puzzle piece made to fit him._ I can't ever tell her. If I do, she'll never come into my arms again._

Crystal grumbled awake as Vivi yelled at the boys; she cracked her eyes open and looked up at Ace who was staring up at the sky.

"Something's….coming." Chopper said looking out at the desert.

"And that 'something' would be…what?" Usopp asked.

Crystal got up as she saw the sand form into tornadoes far away. Ace got up and stood next to her as he stared at it.

"Ah, the wind has picked up," He said as he hooked a thumb into his shorts and the other into Crystal's to keep her close.

Vivi stared at the sand as slowly horror appeared on her face; she turned towards the other quickly. "Everyone! Take cover behind the rocks!"

"Huh, what?" Luffy asked.

"A storm!" Vivi yelled. "A sandstorm is coming!"

Ace put a hand above his eyes as he looked at the storm curiously. The sandstorm picked up as Vivi dived to the ground and Luffy, Usopp and Chopper followed what she did. Crystal turned towards the tents, but Ace grabbed her and pulled her to the ground onto her back as he threw his body over hers to protect her from the storm. Ace wrapped his arm above her head as he ducked his in close; Crystal reached up quickly and grabbed his hat making sure it didn't fly away. The storm passed over as Ace broke through the sand and brought Crystal up with him; they looked around as they ran to the others and helped them up and Crystal found her coat and put it on as they started continuing their walk through the desert.

Luffy complained to Vivi about how he wanted the pirate bento now, but Vivi told him we had to wait. The argument ended up with everyone doing rock, paper, scissors with Luffy winning and him carrying all the bags.

"Here, Luffy." Crystal said as she reached towards him. She put a layer of ice on his head to cool him off and watched as a smile appeared on his face.

Usopp mentioned how he saw an outcropping and Luffy dashed ahead of everyone before they could stop him. Suddenly Luffy came back panting heavily and talking about injured birds; Vivi panicked and said how they birds were known for taking travelers things by acting like their hurt. When Luffy showed us where the birds were Vivi explained to us what probably happened; Sanji grew angry as he started to fight with his captain, but Zoro reassured everyone that they'd get by with food. Luffy and Sanji saw the birds on the outskirts of the outcropping and without thinking Luffy chased after them.

"Luffy don't chase after them!" Vivi yelled after him, but it was too late. Luffy was determined to get the stuff back.

Crystal sighed as she face palmed herself. "That idiot." Crystal subconsciously started to put her hair up into a ponytail, but when she reached for a hair tie she ran into the ribbon. As she looked at it she blushed and looked at Ace, but quickly looked away as she saw he was watching her.

He smiled as he walked over to her and grabbed her wrist; he took the ribbon off, grabbed the ponytail she was hanging onto and tied the ribbon around in her hair as he secured it and let the ends hang on the side. He looked at Crystal and smiled as she played with her hair and moved her head to test its strength.

Crystal smiled at Ace from ear to ear as he smirked down at her. "I love it!" Crystal said jumping at Ace and wrapping her arms around his neck. Ace wrapped his arms around her to hug her back but both had a sad look on their face as they knew how they felt but couldn't tell the other.

They broke apart as Ace diverted his attention to the rock wall and sat down leaning against it. Crystal sat on a rock a few feet from him as she looked around for Luffy in the shade. The ground began to rumble as everybody looked out to the desert trying to find its source. In the background you hear Luffy shouting cheerfully as if he was on an adventure.

"Oh boy," Crystal sighed.

Luffy was hanging on for dear life as he rode on the back of a camel that was terrified to death running away from something. A giant lizard popped out of the ground trying to swallow Luffy and camel in its wake.

"He's a genius when it comes to bringing trouble isn't he?" Ace said sitting casually in the sand.

"How have we lived with him all these years?" Crystal asked Ace. Crystal sighed as Ace shrugs in answer. She walks past Ace letting Zoro and Sanji do their job; Zoro slashes at the lizard with his sword and Sanji kicks it knocking the lizard out flat.

The ground beneath Crystal's feet began to rumble as another Sandora lizard appeared out of the sand and lift Crystal into the air. The lizard looks at Ace and growls next to his face making him wake up and look at it.

"What a pain in the ass." Ace says standing up. "You want me to play with you?" The lizard growls menacingly at Ace making him smirk. "Alright, alright. I guess I have no choice. I'll just have to show off my moves to Crystal."

Ace jumps into the air straight into the lizards mouth; the lizard clamps it's mouth shut as fire erupts through its teeth and nose.

"Oh, shit!" Crystal yells jumping off quickly.

Flames shoot up into the air roasting the lizard where it was standing. Ace jumped away just as the lizard fell to the floor dead.

"I should kill you!" Crystal yelled at him as she punched him on the head.

He smirked at her as he wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her up. "You wouldn't do that."

Crystal huffed as Ace carried her over by the wall with him this time. Sanji began to fry up some of the lizard on the searing rocks here as Chopper looked at the Camel. Chopper seemed to recognize the Camel as he was out here before and needed help; they began to have a conversation with each other making Crystal chuckle, pulling her hood up to hide it. It told Chopper that it would let them ride him, but as Luffy tried to get on it bit his head making him fall to the floor.

Chopper began to translate for the camel then. "I am a freedom-loving, hard boiled, chivalrous camel. Thank you for saving me from such a predicament. I don't mind being ridden, but I won't let guys ride."

The guys started to beat him up in anger as they found it unfair. Crystal held back a laugh, but her body was shaking trying to hold it in so much.

"I'm sorry. My little bandits are so horrible to you." Nami cooed making the camel get hearts in his eyes. "You're a good boy aren't you?"

The camel brushed against Nami and was bending down to let her on as the guys starting calling it names as they raised their hands. Crystal couldn't hold the laughter back any more as she let it go and the camel flung Nami into the sand looking for the sound. The camel looked at Crystal with her hood up and ran over to her, making her jump up and step back a couple steps. The camel bit her coat and tore it away wanting to know who made such a sound. It dropped her jacket as it got a look at her and huge hearts burst from its eyes.

Chopper came over to translate again. "Oh what a beautiful lady! With a laugh made of soft water trickling, a smile made of light, looks of an angel, and a body every woman wants."

Ace began to glare at the camel when Crystal blushed at its words.

"I would be pleased to have such a lovely lady ride me!" Chopper continued.

"What about Nami and Vivi?" Crystal asks the camel.

"Their beauty does no justice to yours. They cannot compare!" Chopper finished.

Crystal looked over and Nami and Vivi as veins throbbed on their heads. She started to fidget as she didn't know how to tell the camel no without being rude.

"Sorry, I'm the only one she gets to ride." Ace said smirking devilishly. He handed Crystal her coat as she slid it back on much to the dislike of the camel.

Crystal blushed as she realized how bad that sounds. "That can be taken so many ways Ace."

Ace stared at her in surprise. "You understood that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Crystal asked him confused.

"Usually you're so oblivious to this stuff!" Ace told her.

She thought back to when she could have been oblivious; she blushed realizing all the times she WAS being oblivious. "How could I have missed that?"

Nami and Vivi rode off ahead of the others quickly; everyone chased after them hoping to catch up. As Crystal ran she watched as Ace went the other way; she sighed as she followed after him and finally caught up to him.

"So…" Ace said catching his breath. "Do you see Nami and Vivi yet?" Ace finally looked up and noticed no one there. "What?"

"It's because…you ran….with your head….down you ….idiot!" Crystal said yelling the last word loudly. "come on, maybe if we walk we can find a town."

Ace nodded as they continued onward; they walked for awhile until Ace looked up.

"What was that sound just now?" Ace asked. The sand started to move in front of them as two giant pinchers came up and out followed by the body and legs of a giant scorpion.

"Not again." Crystal sighed sick of all these animals.

It looked at them menacingly as it clamped it pincers open and closed. It stared Ace straight in the eye as it brought it's stinger around. Ace looked at it with amazement until his eyes narrowed and his face turned threatening.

"I wouldn't do that." Ace threatened.

The scorpion lashed out at Ace making him jump back and shoot flame fist at the scorpion. The scorpion became flambé as he collapsed to the ground. Crystal followed after Ace as he began to walk off.

"I told you not to." Ace warned the dead scorpion while walking.

"Um, Ace." Crystal said staring ahead.

Ace looked up puzzled as a lizard about the size of a tall man walked up and faced Ace; he glared at it wondering what it was going to try and do. Ace stepped to the right and the lizard mirrored it, he stepped to the left and it mirrored again. Crystal covered her mouth try not to laugh as she watched the lizard copy every move of Ace's, making them look as if they were dancing together. No matter how many steps Ace took to either way the lizard followed after him, mirroring his every move.

Ace became irritated by the lizard. "You gonna get in my way too?"

The lizard looked at the flambéed scorpion behind Ace and began to cry a river from how scared it was.

"Aw, Ace he was just having fun." Crystal said walking up to it and petting it's head. "It's okay I won't let the cranky man hurt you."

The lizard rubbed up against Crystal in affection as it scared warily at Ace.

"Can you give us a ride?" Crystal asked it. It looked from Crystal to Ace and back not sure what to do with a kind girl, but a scary man. "He won't hurt you. See?" Crystal grabbed Ace's arm and put it around her waist to show he was friendly. The lizard gingerly walked up to them and nudged Ace's hand in affection too.

"It would be easier to move around." Ace said smirking. He climbed up onto the lizard sitting just below its head as he reached down and helped Crystal mount behind him. The lizard started to move as Crystal quickly wrapped her arms around Ace's waist and held onto his belt.

"Luffy!" Ace yelled hoping his brother would hear.

But as they look at the vast desert, it became harder to believe that Luffy was anywhere close by.


	13. Fake Rebel Army and Scorpion

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal.**

**R&R**

**Enjoy! Chapter 13**

* * *

Crystal rubs her eyes from her nap as Ace starts to tug her off. She looks around and finds herself in a room completely white and full of French doors that led to a veranda. Crystal stood up and got off the lizard as she walked to a door and froze as she heard voices; she peeked through the door opening as Ace walked over and looked through also.

"Kamyu-aniki, if the rebel army really does turn against the King, are we really gonna join them?" A man with a robe, boxing gloves, snowball hat and stretch goggles asked another man with spiky ashy blond hair with a bandana wrapped through it as he wore shoulder pads, gloves and ragged clothes.

"Like hell," Kamyu said pouring some sauce. "We're not leaving this village 'til we take them for all their worth." He gulps down a fish as the other man smirks approvingly.

"Aniki! Trouble! We've got trouble, aniki!" Another voice yells as footsteps rush down the veranda. A man wearing an umpire suit runs into the room as Kamyu stares at him irritated.

"What is it? Keep it down will ya?" Kamyu yells at him. "We're eating here!"

"The sand Pirates!" The umpire says ignoring his brother. "The sand pirates are heading this way!"

Kamyu and boxer look at him worriedly. "Are you sure? What should we do?"

"What're you talking about? There's no way we can take them on!" Umpire said panicking. "We can't exactly turn tail in front of the villagers either." He said as another in a traditional Japanese outfit walked up. "Hey aniki, what should we do?"

They gasped as they watched Kamyu pack a bag for himself and attach it to his gun. "Alright, we'll turn tail and get the hell out of here."

Crystal glared as she listened to these men talk about ditching the villagers. Ace looked down at her as he touch her arm making her look up at him and him shaking his head to show her not to do anything.

"But what're we gonna do after we run away?" Umpire asks. "Are we going back to that life of starvation again?"

"You pinhead!" Kamyu yelled at him. "It's more important to keep our lives! There are plenty of other towns like this to be found! Let's get a move on." Kamyu told them as he walked past them and into the hallway.

Crystal held back a laugh as Kamyu's face turned to horror coming face to face with Ace's and Crystal's lizard; his brothers turn and get the same faces as they stare at the man sized lizard.

"What the hell are you?" Kamyu asked the lizard.

"You guys sure got guts calling yourselves the rebel army with that cowardly attitude." Ace said stuffing his face with the food still on the table. "For four big guys, you're trying to do something awfully small."

Crystal looked around her quickly, just now realizing that Ace was no longer behind her; she smacked her forehead in irritation as she watched Ace eat all the food.

"Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!" Umpire said readying for a fight with the others. "When did you get in here?"

"Food thief!" Boxer yells at him.

"He's right though, your huge cowards if you're just going to ditch the villagers because some pirates are here." Crystal said coming out.

The guys turned to face their new opponent and stopped as their eyes turned to hearts and their tongues lulled out of their mouth at the sight of Crystal. Ace glared at them as he quickly beat them up and threw them to the wall making one crash through, one hit the floor, and the last land in a huge flowering pot. Kamyu stared in horror as his he looked at his brothers; Ace continued to gobble up the food.

"Seconds, please." Ace said sighing in contentment as he held out his bowl to Kamyu.

Kamyu stared in confusion until he finally smiled and took Ace's bowl for him. "Yes, yes, yes, yes. Excuse our impertinence."

"The food here's good." Ace said chewing quickly.

"Yes, thank you sir." Kamyu said.

Kamyu stood there in silence as he watched Ace shovel down the food. He looked up at his brothers in disbelief as he saw all three of them knocked out cold still.

"I beg your forgiveness!" Kamyu said bowing on the floor to Ace. "I'm now aware that you are no ordinary man! As you can see we are no match for the Sand Pirates! We need you to fight them for us! Please lend us your strength!"

Crystal looked at Ace waiting for him to answer them; she sighed as she saw it was pointless to wait. She walked over to Kamyu and kneeled down in front of him; she made him look up at her as she smiled. The other three slowly woke up and listened to Crystal; Ace watched with narrowed eyes as the guys continued to gawk at Crystal, not getting the point of their last pummel.

"We'll help you," Crystal told Kamyu as she gave him another warm smile.

"On two conditions!" Ace added in putting another bite of food in his mouth.

"Of course! Just name it!" Kamyu said.

"We need lots of food and water for us and our friends," Ace told them and watched as they quickly began to gather and pack all the food and water they had in the room. They finished packing and loading it on the sled as Crystal checked it over; Ace waved the guys over and they complied knowing it was the second condition.

"Yes, sir!" Kamyu said rubbing his hands together. "What is the second condition?"

Ace pulled everyone close as he glared at each of them hard waiting until he saw the cold sweat on each of them. "Don't EVER look at Crystal with those kind of eyes again."

The all nodded quickly as if their heads had a super powered rocket on it; Ace smiled at them with a devilish smile. He walked over to Crystal to see that she had the sled tied up to the lizard and was waiting next to it for him. Ace climbed onto the lizard as he tugged Crystal up onto it behind him and waited for her to grab his belt again.

"Thanks!" Crystal said waving to them with a smile. "I hope you can become stronger! After all girls love brave men!"

The guys blushed at her words, but turn and look away as Ace glares at them once again. Ace nudges the lizard making it take off running out of the village and into the desert once again.

"Ace look!" Crystal says grabbing his attention as she pointed ahead.

Up ahead Luffy and his crew were walking towards the village; all of them seemed tired and hot.

"Oi!" Ace yelled as him and Crystal waved towards the crew.

"Ace! Crystal!" Luffy yelled running towards them.

The lizard stopped as Ace jumped off and caught Crystal as she jumped off next.

"What the heck is this?" Luffy asked looking at the lizard.

"Well, well. They said the Sand Pirates were coming, but it's just you guys." Ace said looking at Luffy with a smile.

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Luffy asked confused about what Ace was talking about. "If you're looking for the Sand Pirates they left a little while ago."

"Oh? Is that so?" Crystal asked disappointed.

"Ah, whatever," Ace said shrugging it off. "Anyway Luffy, get a load of this!"

"We got a whole load of food and water for your guys!" Crystal said smiling at them.

Luffy smiled in awe as he looked at the sled full of things as Zoro and Sanji walk up looking at the food.

"Thank you so much my angel~!" Sanji said wiggling around Crystal. "Looks like we won't have to worry about food for awhile." Sanji said talking to Ace.

"You're something else, you two." Usopp said amazed.

"They sure are!" Nami said holding up her hands as she played a joking tone. "Unlike a little brother we know."  
"Got that right." Usopp said agreeing.

"My throat's all dried up." Chopper complained in a scratchy voice.

"Drink up then," Crystal told him as she walked over and helped him to the water.

"Me too!" Luffy said heading towards the water.

"Luffy! Let Chopper get some first! Maoooo." Crystal complained as Luffy tried to force himself to the water.

Ace watched Crystal and Luffy with a smile; it was like old times watching Luffy tackle and climb all over Crystal trying to get something she had.

"Um…Ace-san?" Vivi asked sliding off the camel. "I don't think you could have been carrying enough money to pay for all that." Ace directed his attention away from Crystal and looked up at Vivi, his smile disappearing from his face. "Please don't say you stole it from that village."

"Of course not, we got it from the Rebel Army." Ace said explaining simply with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

"The Rebel Army?!" Vivi gasped surprised.

"They were total fakes though." Crystal told her as she sighed.

"What do you mean by fakes?" Nami asked her.

"We mean they're calling themselves the Rebel Army, and are acting as bodyguards for the village." Ace told her irritated that she didn't believe them. "The villagers were so thankful, they didn't think twice about it. They're just some wandering hooligans."

Crystal looked at Ace quickly as she tugged on his sleeve harshly. "You didn't have to make it sound so harsh." She hissed at him. Crystal looked at Vivi with her shocked face as she couldn't believe someone would be doing such a thing and lying about it.

"But why be bodyguards?" Nami asked. "Wouldn't they be discovered right away?"

"It seems whenever thieves heard the name of the Rebel Army, they ran off without starting a confrontation." Crystal said thinking.

"It's pretty convenient, since all the villagers are eager to offer them food and fame." Ace added in with a smirk.

"The Rebel Army isn't just a bunch of hooligans, or a decorative symbol to be displayed." Vivi said shadowing her face as she clenched her fists.

Luffy stared on emotionless, Zoro did the same as Sanji to a puff from his cigarette.

"Vivi-chan, should we show these guys a thing or two?" Sanji asked her looking uninterested.

"I have to admit, it wasn't right for them to use the villagers as prey," Crystal said standing between Vivi and Ace. "But this village has felt at peace ever since they arrived there. Do you really want to take that away from them?"

"But Crystal, try and understand how Vivi-chan feels." Sanji said staying serious "Wouldn't you want to beat them to a pulp?"

"I DO know how she feels Sanji." Crystal said sternly pulling her attention to him. "Exactly why I know I'm making the right choice. If you were a villager there at this time of problems, and people came saying they could help you and keep you safe, even though you know there's a possibility of them being fake, wouldn't you take that chance to have that feeling for your family and friends?"

"You don't have to stick up for those shitty guys." Sanji told her.  
"I'm not," Crystal said sighing.

"I thought it was appropriate since you guys are in a hurry." Ace told them stepping close to Crystal.

"The country is in no condition to keep an eye on every single village at the moment." Vivi said. "The best thing for the individual villages to do is maintain peace by themselves."

"Then…" Nami said thinking of the rest.

"No, I want to test them first." Vivi said with a smile.

Ace and Crystal watched as Luffy and the guys stood before the village acting as if they're evil. Kamyu and his brothers became cowards as they started to look for a way out, but didn't want to disappoint the villagers.

"If you're a man, suck it up!" Ace grumbled from the shadows. "How long are you planning on acting like a coward? It's a man's job to protect those around him, no matter the cost!"

Kamyu looked up at the villagers as he looks to his brother still frightened. Luffy attacks him as he gets a maniac look on his face staring at them. Kamyu caught Luffy's hand before he could attack any of his brothers as he talked about how he may not be able to defeat him now, but the kids here will someday as they carry on their future. Luffy felt content with his answer as the brothers helped Kamyu defend the village; Luffy smiled and laughed as he acted like they were retreating, making Kamyu and his brothers the heroes of the village.

Ace and Crystal ran towards the direction of Luffy and them and finally caught up as they continued to run to make it to their next destination.

The heat eventually bore down on the crew as the temperature rose; Luffy and Usopp got into a fight over the water as Luffy spilt some onto the desert floor. Crystal watched as Sanji gave Vivi and Nami water, Zoro shared his water with Chopper, and looked up as Ace handed her his canteen. She shook her head not wanting to take his water when he stopped and made her take it.

"I'm used to heat like this thanks to my devil's fruit. It's going to affect you more than me, so drink." He told her with a warm smile.

"You annoy me sometimes with how stubborn and cocky you are." Crystal told him as she snatched his canteen and took a couple gulps to quench her thirst.

"Enough to match yours." Ace countered back making Crystal giggle.

Luffy began to run off with his and Usopp's water making Usopp chase after him and yell to give it back. Soon Luffy's attention was brought away from the water and towards something moving in the sand; he went after it, only for a giant scorpion to come out of the ground with Luffy standing on its back. Everybody stared at Luffy with sweat drops as he stared at the scorpion with admiration; Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper thought quick enough as the scorpion went to attack Luffy and knocked it down first. Ace stood there smirking at Luffy with a joking laugh as Crystal smiled at Luffy for still being the same as always. Crystal began to listen to the story of Vivi's childhood, finally letting the camel have joy in her riding on its back. Nami pushed on and on for her to continue the story as they walked away from the battle with the boys.

Crystal's eyes widened in shock as Vivi revealed that the same boy who was her best friend was now the Rebel leader against her father. Sanji interrupted holding up a fried scorpion claw asking if we wanted to eat it; the girls looked back to find that the boys had already eaten the whole scorpion. Vivi stared in shock as Nami told the camel to get a move on.

After awhile everyone decided to take a break and eat a meal as they did so. Luffy began to complain about wanting more with Usopp making Sanji beat them up; Zoro got brought into the fight as Luffy started to steal some of his food.

"Look. Ace-san has finished eating and he's cleaning his fork and plate." Vivi pointed out looking up at Ace.

"You're right. He sure is different." Nami said.

Luffy heard them and smiled up at them as he argued. "It's because Crystal used to get onto him with how rude he was expecting people to clean up after him."

"Is that true Crystal?" Nami asked up by Ace.

Crystal sat up from lying on Ace's leg as she stared at them. "Yeah. Ace was worse than Luffy as a kid. Except he never smiled, and was always distant from people."

Ace finished cleaning his stuff and nudged Crystal's head back down as he draped his arm over her shoulder and propped his chin up with his other hand as he braced his elbow on his knee. Ace stared at Crystal, really thinking now how dangerous this mission was; to have her with him was killing him inside knowing she might pay for his misjudgment. Sanji put the fire out with sand as Crystal sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at Ace as he stared off into space and wondered what he was thinking about. Luffy began to talk about how meat was talking and how it ran off, making Ace snap out of it and for him and Crystal look confused.

Luffy began to jump across the rocks, following the meat that had been stolen from their stash.

"Oh? You two came from the badlands?" Ace asked crouched on the rock behind them.

They looked up scared as Ace stared down at the menacingly trying to figure out how bad they were.

"Who are you?" The older brother yelled at Ace.

"We won't give back the food!" The younger one yelled hiding behind his brother.

Ace stared at them as the older brother pulled out a gun and aimed it at him. "One move and you're a dead man!"

Ace smirked and laughed at them. "Dangerous things like that don't scare me."

"Bro' have you really shot it before?" The younger asked. "Is the bullet really going to come out?"

"How should I know?" The older yelled back. "W-wait, I'll just…" He began to pull the trigger as the younger jumped on his arms making him pull the trigger all the way.

The bullet flew towards as a rock flies through the air and hits the bullet sending it to the ground.

"What happened?" The older asks.

"Let's stop playing dangerous games. Ok?" Crystal asks walking up.

"Good boys should go back to their mama's and take a nap." Ace said behind her as he stood on the rock.

"She deflected it with a rock!" Older said.

"I've never seen such an incredible person!" Younger said as he gripped his brother's shirt terrified of the two people watching them.

"Who're they?" Usopp asks walking up.

"Hey, give me the gun now. Boys shouldn't be playing with guns, they could hurt someone." Crystal said with a gentle smile not wanting to scare them.

The older boy ran forward and wrapped his arms around Crystal as he looked up at her. "We have something to ask of you! We need you to find and capture a man!" He explained as Crystal knelt down in front of him and listened.

Ace watched the boys with narrowed eyes as he watched for any funny business around Crystal; he wanted to make sure they weren't trying to hurt her.

"Capture him and we'll give you 1,000,000 Berries as a reward!" He told Crystal, his voice becoming strained.

"1,000,000 Berries?" Nami asked, her interest perking at the sound of money.

"I…can't afford to pay you right now…" The boy said looking down as he clenched his fists. "But once I grow up, I promise to pay you!"

Ace narrowed his eye's as the boy held up a photo of a man in overalls holding a pitchfork as he wore sunglasses and had a fuzzy beard and mustache. Crystal took the photo as Ace jumped down and looked over her shoulder.

"Following him, my brother and I have journeyed all the way from the badlands." The older explained.

"So, who is this guy?" Usopp asked wondering.

"Scorpion. A bounty hunter." They told the group.

"A bounty hunter?" Zoro asked interested.

"What are you boys doing following a bounty hunter?" Nami asked them worriedly.

"Well…" The boys said as they looked at each other.

"I think I actually have some business with this guy anyway." Crystal said making Ace and the boys stare at her. She looked back at Ace nodding to him. "He's the man who defeated Blackbeard in Yuba." Crystal said, perking Ace's memory as to what they heard. "The reason we're going to Yuba is to meet him."

"Eh? He defeated Blackbeard?" Everyone asked at once as they looked at Crystal and Ace.

"But Crystal," Usopp said not buying it. "Do you really think this Scorpion guy defeated Blackbeard?" Crystal shrugged her shoulders as Usopp looked at Ace for help. "What about you Ace?"

"I dunno, I can't tell unless I meet him." Ace told him as they kept looking at the photo.

"Crystal? Ace? The real ones?" The younger asked with wide eyes. The boys looked at each other hoping it was true.

"Fire fist Ace?" The older asked making Ace look up. "Tenshi no Crystal?" He asked transferring to Crystal making her do the same.

Ace looked up and looked at the desert as he stood up once again on the rock and scanned the area.

"What's wrong Ace?" Usopp asked.

"Two men," Ace said searching.

"And a bird," Crystal added as she stood up alongside him.

"They're coming," Chopper said as his nose moved smelling the air.

Ace stared hard at the desert as sand flew through the air like dirt would when you walk on it. A man sitting on an ostrich stops at the top of a sand dune and looks down on them.

"There you are, Fire Fist Ace." The man says yelling to him.

The man looks closely and see's Crystal standing there also.

"Oh, what a treat! I get Tenshi No Crystal also!" He said smirking. "I am Scorpion. The indomitable hero!"

Crystal narrowed her eyes concentrating as she looked behind the man; she made a noise as she recognized the straw hat behind him.

"I have traveled from afar to challenge you!" Scorpion continued. "This will be a true battle!"

The boys quickly hide behind a rock as they stared up at Scorpion making Crystal turn defensive thinking they were in danger.

"Yo! Is everyone here?" Luffy asked finally peeking out.

Ace narrowed his eyes at the man, trying to figure out if he was even capable of taking down Blackbeard. He looked over at Crystal to see her doing the same thing, not fazed by Luffy popping out like the others were. She looked back at him and shook her head telling him she didn't believe he could do such a thing to Blackbeard. Ace and Crystal stood there on the rock staring the man down as the man looked them over carefully. The man's eyes staid a little too long on Crystal as her and Ace realized they forgot to put their coats back on after the meal.

"He's an idiot…a complete idiot." The older said making the crew look down confused.

Crystal bumped Ace's hand as they both understood now what was going on between the boys and Scorpion.

"Aha! I'm getting excited! A true battle! Ace you better not back out!" Luffy yelled squirming on the back of the bird.

"As if I'd back out!" Ace shouted back annoyed. "Well, there's something I have to ask him too. Get out of the way Luffy!"

"Here I come, Fire Fist Ace! Tenshi No Crystal!" The man yelled making his bird rush down the dune towards them.

"Go ahead," Crystal told him nudging him forward.

Ace dashed forward across the rocks as he jumped to the ground at the end of them, facing off with the man as he pulled a gun out with a cover.

"Eat this!" The man yelled as a net fired out of the gun.

Everyone looked in amazement as Crystal smiled knowing what Ace was going to do. Ace smirked before he set his body aflame and burst the netting around him as a pillar of flames appeared. The netting flew from Ace and landed on the man, trapping him as he flew off the bird and onto the ground. Ace stood his ground as the man rolled on the floor trying to get the iron netting off of him before it burned him. He looked up at Ace to see him watching him with close eyes; he smirked up at Ace making him raise an eyebrow in admiration.

"Looks like you plan on continuing." Ace said watching the man.

Scorpion got up from the ground and stood. "The Fight of Hell starts now!" He told Ace. He yelled for the bird to bring a rifle making Ace lose his smile and stare in wonder at what the man was planning.

He charged at Ace readying to fire acid at him; Ace charged forward and jumped as Scorpion fired his gun and hit the rock that was behind Ace twice knocking chunks off and through the rock. Ace landed behind Scorpion making him turn and fire again; Ace didn't waste any time as he dashed forward and dodged every shot, until he finally landed a punch to Scorpions stomach.

Scorpion took a couple steps as he tried to catch his breath before he fell over and rolled down a sand dune.

"The outcome was expected, but the story about you defeating Blackbeard was a lie, wasn't it?" Ace asked Scorpion as he looked down at him in the dune. "You knew that if you spread Blackbeard's name around we'd come for you. Something like that?"

Crystal crossed her arms as she watched the scene before her knowing this man wouldn't even be able to touch Blackbeard.

"Exactly, not a bad plan, don't you think?" Scorpion said as he dragged himself a little ways before stopping to look at Ace. Scorpion grabbed some sand and let it fall through his hand as he coughed in pain. "We've been evenly matched till now. It's time for me to get serious!"

"That's enough!" The boys yelled as Scorpion rolled over onto his back, not able to get up. "That's enough, Dad!"

The crew 'eh'ed in wonder as Crystal smiled at the boys, glad she understood what was going on. Crystal looked over to see that Ace was watching the boys for what they were going to do next.

Scorpion coughed as he brought his head up. "'D-Dad?'" Scorpion wondered as he finally spots the boys.

The boys rune to the side of the dune and slide down to their father yelling at Ace to stop.

"Dip! Chip!" Scorpion yelled as he watched them.

"Dad!" The boys yelled as they reached him. "You're no match for him! That's Fire Fist Ace!"

"What are you doing here?" Scorpion asked as he put his hand on Dip's head.

Crystal walked next to Ace to watch the boys and their dad.

"When did you leave the badlands?" Scorpion asked. "Yeah, you're old man is a worthless bragger. But one part was true. No matter what small, insignificant man you may be, if the feeling hits you, you can challenge even the greatest man in the world!" Scorpion smiled at his sons as he wanted them to know this. "I wanted to show you two a huge dream! A man must have a dream burning in his chest. Don't give up enduring everyday! Fight against it! Laugh and live on! As long as you challenge the impossible, and lifestyle is paradise!" The boys began to cry at their fathers words. "I have to show you that, even if I must risk my life! Yeah, if you keep fighting against it, the way will open!" Scorpion took his hand away as he began to get up from the ground.

Scorpion brought out his huge gun again as he aimed it at Ace and Crystal. "Fire Fist Ace, this is the end!" He lit the string as the boys grabbed onto their father.

"Dad! Stop! Please stop!" Dip yells at him. "I understand what you wanted to tell us! But we planned to fight against it too! To live everyday with everything we had! As long as you're there we have the courage!"  
"I'm sorry for complaining!" Chip adds in. "I don't really care about food! I'm happy as long as you're with us!"

"I love you, dad!" Dip said as both boys cried into their father's outfit.

Scorpion froze as he listened to his son's; he let go of the gun and hugged his boys telling them he loved them. Crystal's eyes widened as she watched the gun flip down the dune, until it hit the rock and went off. Scorpion and the boys stared in shock as they watched the bomb shoot up. It ricocheted off the rock and lodged itself on an overbite above as it exploded.

"Watch out!" Crystal yelled as she dashed forward.

Ace tried to reach out to her before she ran, but he was too late as he saw Crystal dash towards Scorpion and his son's. Scorpion huddled over his son's as he watched the chunks of rocks fall towards them. Luffy was about to attack when Ace stopped him.

"Hiken!" Ace yelled shooting a flaming fist at the rocks and knocking it into the rock pillar. He hoped it would knock all of it to the other side, but the events made the chucks and the parts of the broken pillar come crashing towards Scorpion again.

"Ryuuji!" Crystal yelled as she jumped towards the father and sons and planted her feet beside them raising her arms hoping she could stop all these rocks. Rocks crashed around them as sand flew up into the air and covered the surroundings.

Ace watched with wide eyes as the smoke cleared and all they could see was a pile of the rocks. He dashed down the dune and ran around the mound hoping to find Crystal. His heart sped up as he couldn't find her, he was too scared to admit that she didn't make it in time and used her powers. Luffy and his crew ran down as they started to haul rocks away. The ground began to rumble making everyone stop what they were doing and look for the source hoping it was another giant animal in the sand. The rocks began to roll from the top of the mound and down to the ground slowly revealing a shield of light in the shape of a dome; rocks fell into a circle around the shield as everyone let out a breath of relief at seeing Crystal standing there holding up the shield as Scorpion, Dip and Chip watched with awestruck wonder. Once the rocks were completely gone from the mound Crystal let the shield disappear as she looked at the family.

"Are you guys okay?" Crystal asked them.

Scorpion nodded slightly to her with an appreciative smile. "Yeah,"

Ace walked over to her and punched her on the head making her yell in irritation at the random punch but stopped as she looked up at his face. "What did I tell you about doing stuff like that?" Ace asked her worriedly.

She smiled up at him hoping to reassure him as she laughed. "Sorry, I forgot. But…I think it was worth it." She said looking over at Scorpion and his son's as they made their reunion.

Sun began to set as everyone gathered.

"Do you really have to go, Ace?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, Blackbeard isn't in Arabata. There's no reason for us to stay in this country." Ace said as he looked at Crystal.

Chopper looked at her with tears in his eyes. "But what if we never see you again, Crystal?"

Crystal picked Chopper up and kissed his forehead as she smiled at him. "As long as you sail on the sea, you'll see me again." She set Chopper down and gave Luffy a big hug surprising him. Luffy smiled as he hugged her back.

"Where do you plan on going next?" Sanji asks them.

"Scorpion told me some guy in the West saw him." Ace said. "I'm gonna look there. Luffy, here." He tossed his brother a piece of paper and smiled as Luffy caught it. "Keep it with you, always."

"What? It's just a scrap of paper." Luffy said disappointed.

"That scrap of paper will let us meet again." Ace told him.

"Oh! That's right!" Crystal said digging in her pocket for her scrap of paper. "Here,"

"Don't want it?" Ace asked him cautiously.

"No, I do." Luffy said looking at the pieces of unfolded paper.

"Having a little brother who's a bit on the slow side makes his older brother and sister worry." Ace said his face breaking into a smile.

"He's probably going to keep burning your hands too." Crystal told them as her and Ace bowed to them in respect. "Take care of him for us."

"Luffy, the next time we meet will be at the Pirate's Summit." Ace said turning serious as he looked at his brother.

"Yeah," Luffy said smiling.

"Come to the top," Crystal said as he and Ace smirked at Luffy.

Luffy turned around to say bye to Scorpion's family making the crew divert their attention. Ace grabbed Crystal's hand as they made their exit while Luffy was distracted. By the time Luffy turned back around they were gone and out of site.


	14. Blackbeard Found

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal.**

**R&R**

**I hope you're enjoying! I've had to revise my story all over again, so sorry if it takes awhile!**

**Chapter 14**

* * *

"Not many people here in the West." Crystal commented as she pushed Ace's black cowboy hat on her head. So far on Banaro island no one had come outside; she watched as Ace took off his long black coat and pushed it into his bag.

"And any people that are here keep their eye on you." Ace grumbled to himself.

"What?" Crystal asked not hearing him.

"Nothing," Ace said louder so she could here. Ace stopped and stuck his arm out and he point towards a building and then his ear.

Crystal listened and heard men yelling in pain and thumps as if bodies were falling to the ground. A gruff laugh was heard seconds later making Crystal freeze; she'd recognize that laugh anywhere, Blackbeard was on the other side of that building. Ace and Crystal climbed on top of the building; Ace sat crouched on the edge of the roof as he propped his elbows on his knees, Crystal sits on the edge of the roof, next to Ace, letting one of her legs dangle over as the other was brought close to her so she could drape her arm on the knee. Crystal looked around the town finally understanding why the town was desolate, Blackbeard and his crew destroyed the town and its building, and most likely chasing the people off after robbing them.

"Oi look!" Blackbeard said handing the paper to his crewmate. "It's an article about Strawhat! It seems he took down the Judiciary Island! With this his bounty will definitely rise!"

A man holding a gun with a sight seeker over his eye opened the newspaper and looked at the article.

"Enies Lobby is famous for having the sea train running all the way from Water Seven." A man with long black hair, earrings, a black top hat, and looks like a mime said smiling.

"It's not far from here," The man holding the gun said. "We might get the chance to meet him again."

Crystal tensed as she heard that Luffy met Blackbeard and glared daggers into Blackbeard's back hoping it would kill him; if only looks could kill.

"To be within our firing range…" A sickly man said hanging over a horse that didn't look any better as its tongue hung out of its mouth as its hair covered its face. "How pitiful, how unlucky they are." The man coughed loudly as he gave up talking and lay down.

A huge man with a wrestlers mask on yelled and laughed as he held a huge bag up in the air with his hands. "Let's go, Captain!"

"Of course we're going!" Blackbeard said smiling as he held up his hands in victory and laughed. He kicked the man he had propped his foot on and began to walk with his crew away from the robbery they just finished. "Well then prepare to leave! Don't get delayed!"

"Oi!" Ace said trying to catch their attention. He tried again as they continued to walk on without hearing him. "Wait a minute, Teach. I've been looking for you."

Teach stopped as he turned to his right and looked up on the building, staring at Ace and Crystal sitting there.

Blackbeard looked up past the light from the sun that was making Ace and Crystal hard to see. "Oh! Ace. Crystal." Blackbeard said smiling. "Commanders!"

"Knock it off! Commander is a word only those respectful of that person are allowed to say." Ace said becoming angry. "Stop mocking."

The mime walked forward a step with a cane he held behind him. "So you're the famous Fire Fist Ace." He turned his attention to Crystal and smiled. "And I'm guessing this girl with the looks of an angel is Tenshi No Crystal."

"Yeah, that's right." Ace said agreeing. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah," Crystal said nodding her head to him, but keeping her eyes on Blackbeard. "It seems now you've become quite a Caption, right?" She asked Blackbeard mockingly.

"Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach." Ace stated.

Blackbeard laughed loudly. "What's wrong Crystal?! It's been a long time!" He spread his arms out expecting a nice reunion but was rewarded with a glare from Ace and Crystal. "What's the matter? How did you know I was here?"

Ace glared down at Teach with hatred as he twined his fingers together. "Teach, stop asking useless questions. You tried to take a man's life, along with Crystal's." Ace said his eyes narrowing even more at the memory. "You must have a comprehension of the current situation. Isn't that right?"

Crystal watched as evil crept into his eyes making her body tense in anticipation.

"Yeah, I know." Blackbeard said his voice no longer joking and friendly. "Then, let me say just one thing. Ace, Crystal, will you become my nakama?!"

Crystal and Ace clenched their teeth as fury crept through their bones; Crystal could feel how tensed Ace was and how Ryuuji was pushing to get out the angrier she got. Her eyes flashed red as a warning towards Blackbeard, only making him smile more.

"Rule the world with me!" Blackbeard pressed on. "I've already planned every single thing! Whitebeards time is over already. It is I who'll become the Pirate King!" Blackbeard's voice took on a cocky tone as he fully believed his plan. "First, I'll go to Water Seven from here to kill Mugiwara no Luffy and hand him over to the government."

Ace's brows furrowed in as tight as they could as his face became pure anger. "Luffy?! What did you say?!"

"You bastard!" Crystal yelled as her eyes flashed again. A gust of wind blew past Blackbeard's face making him flinch to the side.

"Oh! You know him?" Blackbeard asked curious.

"I won't let you lay a finger on him." Ace said surprisingly calm as he watched Crystal try to calm herself down. "He's our little brother!"

Blackbeard stared in shock realizing what he just said ruined any chance he had of making them agree to join.

"And of course we're not gonna be your," Ace said pausing to glared harder if possible.

Blackbeard's partner with the gun shot towards Crystal and Ace quickly; Ace's body healed in his chest and forehead as fire covered the hole's again, and Crystal didn't even blink as the bullets glided around her before it could even try to hit her.

"Nakama," Ace finished saying as the fire healed his chest and forehead completely. "Seems like we have a guy without manners here." Ace's eyes scared Crystal as his pupils were almost completely gone now. "Higan!" Ace yelled quickly as fire bullets began to blow out of his finger guns.

Wrestler roared as he picked up a building and hurled it at Crystal and Ace. "Wind!" Crystal yelled as wind flew up into a pillar as it hit the building and smashed it to pieces.

Blackbeard backed away as pieces of sharp wood landed where he was standing. "Auge, Burgess. Stay out of this!" Blackbeard yelled at them as he looked at them over his shoulder. "You're still no match for either of them! Step back!"

"Sorry," Burgess said rubbing the back of his head.

"Hiken!" Ace yelled sending a giant flaming fist crashing into Blackbeard and his crew. Blackbeard was sent flying through a building and onto the ground as he rolled around to stamp out the flames on his body.

"Captain!" Burgess yelled getting off the ground and ran to Blackbeard.

"Captain!" The mime yelled gently with a smile as he ran towards Blackbeard with a funny run.

Ace and Crystal jumped off the building and began to walk towards Blackbeard; Crystal walked behind Ace as he stepped onto the burning building and called the flames to him. Ace and Crystal stopped walking through the flames as they reached the end of the burning building and watched as Blackbeard was still trying to get the flames snubbed out with help from his crew.

"Stop you idiots! Stand back!" Blackbeard yelled at his crew as he fell face first into the ground and finally doused the flames. He looked up at Crystal and Ace still standing in the flames as his face turned to anger.

Ace glared at him through the flames hooking his thumb into Crystal shorts making sure she didn't go ahead without him, knowing her anger was passed its limit. Blackbeard breathed heavily as he rolled over and stamped out a small fire on his coat. Ace brought the flames back as they disappeared into the air. Blackbeard rolled back over onto his stomach as he began to laugh menacingly pushing himself back up.

"I understand Ace." Blackbeard said pulling his legs up under him as he pushed up off the ground. "You want to kill me, right? That's right, the attempted murder of a nakama is a big crime. It's true I tried to kill the 4th Division Commander Thatch, and also the 2nd Division Commander Crystal! I had no choice!" Blackbeard yelled making Ace pull Crystal closer, but this time because he didn't even want Blackbeard to look at her right now. "They were hiding the Devil's Fruit I wanted. The ship's rule was that the guy who finds it has to eat it." He tried to explain kneeling. "I memorized every shape of the Devil's Fruit from a book, so I immediately knew that was the one I was looking for. I stayed all those decades on Whitebeard's ship because I thought I would have a higher probability to run into that fruit. If I had run out of luck on it, I would have given up on it, but that fruit came into my friend's possession!" Crystal clenched her fists at hearing a feeble excuse as this from him as if it was a liable one to explain that it was the right thing to do. "I thought Crystal would have helped me once I found out who her parents were."

Crystal stared in shock and fear at Blackbeard. _How does he know?_

"I overheard Blackbeard talking to Marco and Thatch, **confiding** in them who you were. He told them how no one, but a handful of people knew who you were and that he trusted them." Blackbeard said seething as he looked at her. "But instead you chose to help Whitebeard."

"And after trying to kill Thatch and Crystal, you stole it." Ace said tensing.

"Well, it was just spur of the moment for Thatch." Blackbeard said smirking. "This ability has chosen me! With this I have become the strongest man!" He laughed evilly as Crystal flinched from his eyes, whose reminded hers a little too much like her parents as they looked at her. "Look, even among the logia's it's unique." He told them as he held out his hand and darkness began to rise out of it and engulf it. A pillar of darkness flew out of Blackbeard's body and into the sky like a tornado "Ace, your body is fire right?" The darkness began to block the sun as he laughed. "I am….darkness!"

Ace didn't even raise an eyebrow at the information.

"That's right, Commander Ace." Blackbeard said lowering his voice. "I can't get killed by you. Out of all the Devil's Fruit recorded in history, the one with this power is known as the most evil of them all! The logia-type, Yami Yami Fruit." Blackbeard's face lowered as he stared at the harder. Crystal glared back as she stood her ground next to Ace. "I've become a man of darkness. I'll give you a taste of its power right now!"  
Ace smiled as he didn't feel threatened at all. "Do as you like."

Blackbeard's crew ran like hell away from their Captain as he rampaged with the darkness rising out of his body. The darkness rushed back down to Blackbeard as he spread his arms out and it began to spread out on the ground beneath the village

"Darkness is gravity. The power to drag in everything! And to keep all light from escaping! Infinite gravity." Blackbeard said holding his hands up, palms facing the sky.

"Even so, it seems it's not reaching us." Ace said as Crystal hugged closer to Ace so she didn't step into the growing darkness.

"I'm not going after you two yet. Just stand there and take a look at the town." Blackbeard said holding out his arms. He thrust his arm down into the darkness on the floor. "Black Hole!" The darkness began to send particle into the air turning the whole town dark as visibility began to disappear.

Ace and Crystal looked around as buildings cracked and warped being sucked into the ground and disappearing. The town crashed around them as every building fell and disappeared into the darkness; soon the whole town was swallowed up and gone as all that was left was the ground it was sitting on seconds ago. The darkness spiraled back towards Blackbeard until it was nothing but a little dark flame above Blackbeard, leaving Ace, Crystal and Blackbeard staring at each other.

"You get it now, Ace?" Blackbeard said laughing wickedly. "This is the power I gained!"

Green balls of light began to fly around Blackbeard making him stop in his boasting and watch them. Crystal looked at Ace as his hands glowed green and the little green orbs flew out of them faster than before.

"Harutobi!" Ace yelled making the orbs glow brightly as he looks up and glares at Blackbeard. "Hidaruma!" The green turned to red as the orbs burst into flames around Blackbeard, burning him and sending him to the ground screaming.

"I understand pretty well the greatness of the power of darkness." Ace said putting his hands back down to his sides watching Blackbeard. "But this is strange, if you're a Logia type, you should be able to dodge an attack such as this."

Darkness quickly came out of Blackbeard and swallowed the fire, then left as Blackbeard stopped moving on the ground. Ace narrowed his Ace preparing for something to come.

"I already told you, darkness drags in everything." Blackbeard said getting up once again. "Bullets, blades, strikes, fires and even lightning. I can't dodge attacks like the rest of you do. My body absorbs much more pain than a normal human! But, in exchange for that risk there's one more thing I'm capable of absorbing! Kurouzu!" He yelled thrusting his hand forward. Darkness began to swirl out of his hand trying to drag anything in that it could. "The gravity of darkness can accurately absorb the "entity" of the Devil's Fruit users!"

The darkness's power suddenly struck as Crystal and Ace were jerked forward slightly, making Ace's and Crystal's orange and black cowboy hats fly off their heads and onto the ground.

"Gravity?!" Ace asked surprised.

Crystal blinked and suddenly Blackbeard was in front of them grabbing Ace's arm tightly.

"How is it? Have you figured it out yet Ace?" Blackbeard asked staring at Ace with crazy eyes.

Ace stared at his hand as Blackbeard asked him; suddenly Ace looked with wide eyes at Teach unbelieving. Crystal watched breathlessly as Teach swung his arm towards Ace and landing it in his stomach, making Ace cough up blood and be sent flying into the broken down building Ace had sent Teach through before. The smoke cleared around him as he lay on the ruin in pain lifting his head up to look at Teach.

"Ace!" Crystal yelled worriedly.

Teach began to laugh as he gripped Crystal by the arm and tugged her over to him, stopping her from running to Ace. He twisted her arm behind her back as she tried to struggle away from him, she jerked from him and thrust her hand out sending high speed winds at him, slicing him on his arms and stomach. He glared at her as he smirked and gripped her by her throat, lifting her up into the air.  
"Taking your power would ensure my position as the strongest man in the world!" Teach said laughing. "But I'm guessing, if I take your power, you would die. Am I right, _**Angel**_" He seethed the last word out as Crystal's eyes widened. "By your reaction, I'm guessing I'm right."

Ace grimaced as he tried to get up, but ended up sliding down the pile of broken wood to the floor.

"It's been awhile since someone has actually hit you, right?" Blackbeard asked with a smile. "You understood the moment I grabbed you." Ace reached his hand up and touched the blood dripping from his mouth. "The other thing my darkness can absorb is the Devil's Fruit power! In other words, by being touched, those with abilities of the Devil's Fruit are unable to use their ability for that time!"

Ace wobbled as he got to his feet, struggling to stay up.

"Logia, Zoan, Paramecia…all those overconfident Devil's Fruit users in the world." Blackbeard told them. "I've obtained the ability to expose their weakness!"

Ace wiped the blood from a corner of his mouth as he glared harder. "So it's fine if I don't get caught." Ace simplified.

"I just proved that you can't get away from the gravity of darkness!" Blackbeard whined. "Kurouzu!"

Ace was jerked forward by the darkness painfully. "Shinka Shiranui!" Ace said jerking his arms forward as his body bent forward. The fire turned into spikes as they smashed through Blackbeard's chest. Blackbeard thought quick enough as he smashed his fist down onto Ace's neck making him spit blood out again as he flew into the building once again.

"Ace!" Crystal yelled still in Blackbeard's grip. She watched as Ace gripped his neck in pain, she let a moment of relief fill her glad it didn't break his neck, but it fleeted away as Blackbeard made the darkness arise and wrap around her trapping her arms to her sides and binding her body tightly making her scream out in pain.

"Crystal!" Ace yelled. He winced as his neck lanced pain through again. "He almost broke my neck. Quite a troublesome ability he has." Ace said watching Crystal writhe in pain as Blackbeard grabbed the fire lances. Ace crossed his fingers into a cross as they burst into flame. "Juujika!" Ace yelled as light flew from his fingers in a sight seeker to land on Blackbeard's chest as a bull's eye. Fire followed from his fingers in a burst to land into Blackbeard's chest, making a banana rock, or a mountain rock, fall over.

Crystal watched as the darkness flew her away from the shot hitting Blackbeard; Ace and Blackbeard fought with all their power waiting till the other gave in. Crystal watched as the dirt cleared and gasped seeing Ace on his elbows and knees breathing deeply as Blackbeard stood across from him, darkness still flowing out of his body.

"Everything is useless before darkness!" Blackbeard said, sweat dripping off his face and nose. "Even that strength of yours. However it would be a shame to waste that power. Ace! Become my nakama!" Blackbeard and Crystal watched as Ace put his hands on the ground, trying to get up, but slipping every time.

Ace finally got enough strength to push himself up onto his knees as he smirked at Blackbeard, blood running from his forehead, mouth, and nose. "If I surrender my power to you, then there was no point in me being a man." Ace told him. "There was no point in protecting Crystal. I definitely won't live with regrets. Got that idiot?"

"How long can you keep living like that in this world? It's a shame, Ace." Blackbeard said closing his eyes, then looking back up to Ace. "Even now, you can't protect Crystal."

The darkness moved to Blackbeard's words as it constricted on Crystal until it felt like her bones would crack. She clenched her teeth trying not to scream, but the pain became unbearable as the scream escaped her lips and echoed through the air.

"Can you help her Ace?" Blackbeard said lifting his hand. The darkness followed his movements into the air as it paused with Blackbeard. "Last chance." He smiled as he watched Ace try and stand up, but fall as he had no strength left to stand. He threw his hand down to the ground as the darkness followed. It threw Crystal into the ground, creating a crater in the floor as she coughed up blood.

Crystal struggled to sit up as she looked at Ace. "Ryu-"

"No!" Ace shouted at her. She stopped looking at him with worry in her eyes. "Don't use him!"

Blackbeard laughed as the darkness smashed down on Crystal again sending her farther into the ground and screaming again.

"Stop!" Ace yelled watching as the darkness curled around her and brought her into the air.

"You brought this on her Ace! You brought her here!" Blackbeard yelled as the darkness slowly began to wrap around Crystal.

Ace sent a quick flare of fire up into the darkness making it let her go. She dropped to the ground and winced as she tried to look around. Ace watched her with panic as he saw the blood running out of her mouth and down her forehead, the scraps on her arms. He clenched his teeth seeing the bruise on her neck in the shape of a hand, and the bruises on her arms from when the darkness tightened around her.

Blackbeard glared at Ace for ruining his plan. "Too bad, Ace. I guess your time is over. Die by the darkness!" Blackbeard yelled spreading his arms making the darkness flow out of his body quickly.

Ace stood and spread his arms also. "Dai Enkai!" Ace yelled. Fire spread out greatly from him as it swirled past Crystal and almost to Blackbeard before he gathered it up it a giant ball the size of the moon into his hand as he lifted it above his head.

Blackbeard laughed as he looked at Ace. "The sun or the darkness. Who will win?"

"I'll make Whitebeard the king." Ace said smirking as he looked at Blackbeard.

They both charged forward with a battle cry as fire and darkness collided in huge orbs smashing against each other. Crystal ran to Ace hoping she would make it in time; she wasn't going to stand by and watch as Ace risked his life with this move. She decided that if he was going to die, she would die with him; she didn't care if she had to fight against Blackbeard to do it.

Crystal ran blindly through the darkness, then blinding light as she searched for Ace; she saw a figure up ahead and wrapped her arms around his chest holding him tightly as the darkness pushes the fire away.

"Please," Crystal whispered, hoping SOMEONE would hear her. "Please, help me save him."

As the darkness dawned upon them, she felt Ace's energy leave his body and he falls to the ground. She wraps her arms around Ace protective as she closes her eyes hoping she had enough power to help. She felt the power rack through her body and exploded out as it wrapped around them.

All too soon Crystal felt her energy leave her. "No…" Crystal whispered tiredly. Her body crumpled hanging onto Ace; she looked over as she saw Ace's hat lying upside down next to her. She grabbed it and put it on her head, pushing it down, as a tear escaped her eye and dropped before she lost consciousness and fell.


	15. Impel Down

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**R&R.**

**Chapter 15! Can't believe I've revised this far! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ace awoke in a cell as his arms were chained into the wall, and his legs were wrapped in chains all made out of seastone so he couldn't get loose.

"Are you alive in there, Ace?" Garp asked him staring through the cell.

Ace looked up at Garp with a mask of anger as he watched his grandfather look at him the same way.

"Nobody can stop this now." Garp said crossing his arms. "We have angered the king of the sea!"

Ace clenched his teeth in anger as his grandfather stared at him. Garp sighed as he softened his eyes towards Ace, not being able to see his grandson chained up and hurt like he was in the heavily bared cell.

"I wanted you and Luffy to become great Marines." Garp told him truthfully. "Nevermind Marines, you two brothers have become notorious outlaws! I'm sure you've heard the rumors about Luffy, too. In Water 7, he picked a fight with the world government and somehow managed to invade the Island of law, Enies Lobby. I shot over there and gave him a taste of the Old man's Fist of Love!" Garp told him holding up his fist before he sighed again and placed his hands in his lap. "Doesn't seem to have helped one bit though. After that, he caused a huge uproar on the Sabaody Archipelago. I'd expect no less from my own grandson!" Garp laughed gruffly as he felt proud for a moment. "Oh yeah, I also told Luffy about his father. He was really surprised he had a father."

"Doesn't matter," Ace said finally speaking. "Whether we know it or not, as annoying as it is, me, Luffy, and Crystal carry the blood of a world-renowned criminal. There's no way we could've ever been Marine's. Even though I owe my mother a debt of gratitude and took the name 'Portgas', I still can't stand the thought that I carry the blood of that worthless father of mine. I don't remember him at all, and I don't owe him anything."

Garp felt bad for how Ace felt right now and couldn't help but feel he needed to say something. "Yeah, I get what you mean, but he was just…" Garp started to say.

"That's why…" Ace said interrupting him and looking up to face Garp. "Gramps…" Ace said remembering when Whitebeard brought Ace into his family. "My old man is Whitebeard, and no one else." He told Garp with a smile.

Garp stared at him for a long moment before sighing. "You know, Crystal told me the same thing. She denied any part of being the child of her real father."

Ace stared at Garp as his smile left his face. "At least she's not here, that's all I care about." Ace told Garp as he let his head fall down again to shadow his face.

Garp sighed as he got up and left Ace alone in his cell once again. Ace clenched his fists and teeth as he remember Crystal grabbing him during the battle, he remembers feeling her body go slack, covering him, as the explosion hit her at full force. By the time he woke up the marines were taking him and chaining him in a cell with Crystal nowhere in sight.

"Dammit!" Ace yelled at himself. "Why did I have to take her with me?" Ace said clenching his teeth and holding the tears back.

After awhile Ace looked up to find that the beast-man guard pushing Jinbei into the cell with him; Jinbei was covered with chains as the beast-man pushed him down and clubbed him in the shoulder to make him shut up.

"Didn't even hit that itchy spot." Jimbei said grumbling.

"You got beaten up pretty badly, huh, boss?" Ace said staring at the floor.

"It ain't my body that's in pain, Ace-san." Jinbei explained. "The pain…it's in my heart, for not being unable to do what's right!"

"Jinbei…" Ace sighed out.

"As things are, I cannot accept death!" Jinbei shouted. "So what if they take my position as warlord of the sea away? I don't need it! If only I could prevent this battle, I don't even need my own life."  
"Don't blame yourself." Ace told him sighing.

"If only I could help." Jinbei groaned out. "I heard what happened to Crystal and you."

Ace clenched his teeth as he had to close his eyes. "It's all my fault." Ace told Jinbei. "If I didn't let my pride of being Whitebeard's son, to chase after Teach, she wouldn't have come with me. She wouldn't have battled Blackbeard with me." He swallowed hard as the tears threatened to spill.

"Ace…" Jinbei said sadly watching him.

"I remember how she used to smile at everything, she was always positive, how she always made me smile even when I was in a bad mood." Ace said smiling at the memories. "That's all that is playing in my head; every time she called my name, every time she held out her hand to me, every time she smiled at me." Tears began to fall down his face as his guilt became too much. "And now, because of me, she's dead."

"Dead?" Jinbei asked watching as Ace cringed away from the word. "Ace, Crystal isn't dead! She's being held in this prison!"

Ace looked up at Jinbei, looking at his face to see if he was lying or not. When he saw Jinbei was telling the truth he couldn't help but feel relief and happiness, even in a dark, damp place like the cell.

"The government calls me a pirate who hates pirates, but your group is a different matter." Jinbei told Ace.

"'Hates Pirates'? You do?" Ace asked him.

"I suppose you would be surprised. I spent a lot of time on Whitebeard's ship, but…" Jinbei said thinking. "…because of my status, I had to travel underwater to get there. I do like you guys, after all."  
Ace stared at him questioningly before he gave a small smile and breathed out. "I seem to recall you almost killed me once, though."  
"Well, you almost killed me too, didn't you?" Jinbei said with a smirk. "I simply wanted to help him. After all, Fishman Island is at peace, only because of old Whitebeard. All pirates who travel through the Grand Line pass through Fishman Island. After the Great Pirate Era began, Fishman Island was thrown into chaos. It was flooded with too many human pirates for us to hold back, as well as the marines chasing them." Jinbei began recalling the time. "Countless mermaids and fishmen were kidnapped and sold, and just as everyone had closed their eyes against the despair, Whitebeard appeared." Jinbei remember Whitebeard telling every pirate that Fishman Island now belonged to him. "Those words were all it took. After that, nobody was able to lay a hand on Fishman Island. Such power! I will never forget that day! And like that he protected countless islands by claiming them as his own. He's the pirate boss, so we can't let him fall!"

Ace watched Jinbei as he told Ace this story.

"What do you think would happen to the oceans if he were to die!?" Jinbei questioned. "The era of chaos would continue! Anyone should be able to understand that! The government must have realized this too!" Jinbei slammed his head back into the stone wall irritated. "I wanted to stop this fight, even if it costs me my life. I wanted to save you, Ace-san. Along with getting Crystal out of here."

"Jinbei…please stop." Ace said looking at the floor again. "You're being too hard on yourself."

"I still haven't abandoned hope." Jinbei said looking up. "There are people out there willing to help Crystal and you, Ace. I have faith in miracles and chances."

A laugh was heard in mocking. "It seems things have changed out there."  
Ace looks up and across the walkway at the cell directly across from them.

"This sounds like a perfect chance to take down Whitebeard. The thought of it makes my blood boil." Crocodile said rubbing his hook.

"Why, you!" Jinbei yelled.

Ace smirked as he looked at the man. "You're saying you want to take the old man's head?"  
"I ain't the only one." Crocodile told him.

People started to add in their thoughts about killing Whitebeard making Ace narrow his eyes.

"Jinbei, Fire Fist. Remember this well." Crocodile told him as all the other inmates began to stomp in unison. "Try and count the people who were force to swallow their tears after being unable to defeat Whitebeard or Roger, and you'll find thousands and thousands of them across the sea." Crocodile narrowed his eyes back at Ace.

"Shut it you useless criminals!" A guard said walking down the steps making all of them shut up.

"It's the beast-man!" Some of the prisoners yelled.

"Lookie here!" Another cat called. "It's a woman!"

"With the looks of an angel!"  
Ace perked up at hearing this trying to catch a look for the beast-man or the person he was escorting.

"Wouldn't I like to take her innocence away!"

Prisoners began to holler in agreement, making Ace narrow his eyes. Silence was met as he heard the clang of someone hitting the metal of the cells. The beast man finally made it to Ace and Jinbei's cell. The beast man opened the cell door waiting for the guard to walk in.

"We're going to fix the chains a bit here." The guard took away the chains going across his shoulders, and switched Ace's arms to a pair of handcuffs.

The beast man growled at the guard, and the guard exited the cell quickly obliging the beast man. The beast man threw a body into the cell with Ace and Jinbei as it slid across the floor. Ace's heart stopped as he stared at the body on the floor; it was a small, slender woman, with long blonde hair. She was covered in bandages; around her throat, around her arms, thighs, legs, and wrists. But all of this was pushed away as he looked at the thing on her wrist and the accessory around her neck; on her wrist was a black ribbon tied into a bow, and around her neck hung an orange cowboy hat with red beads, two opposite drama faces, and a bone skull with red string on the end.

"Well, if it isn't Tenshi No Crystal." Crocodile laughed once the beast man and guard left.

"As if you should say anything Crocodile." Kizaru said appearing before the cell.

Crystal put her arms underneath her as she sat up shakily. "You….bastard!" She pushed off her feet and grabbed the bars of the cell. "Tell me where he is!"

"I don't need to answer that." Kizaru said flashing his eyes to Ace. "We don't care what happens to that pirate. What we want is your power. If you give us your power, we promise not to hurt your father, Whitebeard. Well, not much."

"You won't be able to touch daddy if you tried!" Crystal yelled at him.

Kizaru narrowed his eyes at her as he touched his forehead. "And here I thought what we've put you through so far would make you think better." Kizaru shook his head as he walked off and away from the cell.

"Wait! Dammit wait!" Crystal yelled after him. She slid to the floor. "Wait…" She whispered.

"Crystal?" Ace asks quietly.

Crystal tenses hearing the voice; she lets go of the bars and turns around to face Ace. Her breath escapes her as she stares at Ace sitting on the floor.

"A…" Crystal began to say as she stared at him. She pushed off the ground as she jogged to Ace and threw herself at him. "Ace!" Crystal said happily as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck. "Thank god! I thought they already killed you!"

Ace moved his hands to her waist pushing her away. She stared at him confused as his eyes roamed her face; his hands cupped her cheeks as he watched her. "I thought you were dead," Ace whispered. "I never saw you after you hung onto me during the battle with Blackbeard."

Ace lifted his arms up as he slipped his hand cuffs behind her and pulled her close as he wrapped his arms as much as he could with handcuffs around her. He tugged her into his lap as she sat against him and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"Never again," Crystal whispered against his neck.

"Huh?" Ace asked listening.

"Never again am I letting you go." Crystal said. "I never realized how lonely I am without you."

"I know how you feel." Ace said. His thoughts rolled around in his head. "How…How did you get away from Blackbeard alive?"

"I don't know," Crystal said leaning back enough to look Ace in the eyes. "I just remember hoping for enough power to help keep us safe, when I passed out."

"You don't know what happened?" Jinbei asked surprised.

"Jinbei?" Crystal said looking at him. "Since when have you been here?"

Jinbei fell over with Crocodile at the ridiculousness of what she asked.

"Do you really not remember?" Jinbei asked composing himself. He watched Crystal shake her head as he relaxed. "I've been hearing it everywhere. Blackbeard told them how you ran to Ace and when his darkness was about to finish you two off, you made a huge burst of light surround you two and explode. It destroyed all of the darkness on that island; but as Blackbeard went to go battle you up close he saw you two unconscious, so he brought you to the marines."

Crystal opened her mouth to talk to Jinbei when a bunch of footsteps were heard walking to their cell.

"You've got a special visitor, Ace, Crystal." The warden said stepping up to the cell. "You know we would have kept you two apart if Hancock hadn't asked to see you AND Ace." He told Crystal with a glare.

"Who do you think has come?" The warden asked them. "Jinbei, I'm sure you haven't met her, so there's no way for you to know who she is."

Ace glared at him as he tightened his arms around Crystal. Prepared to fight if they tried to take her away.

"But while few have met her, her name is well-known! The empress of the warrior clan, Kuja…" The warden continued. "…and one of the seven warlords of the sea. She is the strong, proud, most beautiful woman in the world! The pirate empress, Boa Hancock!"

Everyone looked up in surprise and curiosity at the woman standing before them.

"What do you want with me?" Ace asked as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Nothing. I merely wanted to see you with my own eyes." Hancock told him. "The man who served as the trigger, along with the girl, for the war I am about to partake in."

"So we're just some items on display, huh?" Ace said watching her unsure.

"The empress who refused to listen, no matter what was said to her until now." Jinbei said seething. "You really want to keep your warlord position that badly?"

Crystal looked at her carefully as she watched Boa Hancock try to stand tall and ignore the other prisoners. Crystal toned out the prisoners and Magellan watching Boa, until Magellan used his Devil's Fruit power and drenched two prisoners in poison, putting them in horrible pain and they writhed on the floor trying to make it stop.

"Luffy is in Impel Down to rescue you." Boa said quickly while the prisoner's screamed in pain and Magellan had his attention diverted. Crystal and Ace gasp in surprise at the news coming from her secretly.

"Well then, Hancock-dono." Magellan said walking up to her. "Take your time, and say what you wanted to say."

"I am done here." Boa said walking away.

"Hey, what you just said…is it true?" Ace asked hurriedly.

"I have no reason to lie to you." Boa said still walking. "That's right. He was afraid that you two would be upset."

Ace couldn't believe that it was true; first Crystal was put here, and now his stupid little brother broke into the prison?

"Ace-san…Crystal-chan…" Jinbei said watching the two who were trying to recover. "What did that woman say to you?"

"She said that my brother…is coming here." Ace said his face paling as the shadows clouded his face.

Jinbei gasped in surprise. "The Straw Hat kid you keep telling me about? How reckless of him!"

"That stupid brother!" Crystal said trying to breath. It felt like her breath was sucked out of her and she could get a grasp on some more. "Please, let him be okay."

Crystal leaned against Ace as she tried to get some sleep; her body wouldn't be able to take much more if she tried to stay awake. It felt like only ten minutes had gone by as she heard a cell door open. She moved closer to Ace as she sighed out when a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her away from Ace. She snapped her eyes open and looked at the person holding her now.

She gasped as she looked at the red head in tight pink leather. "Sadi-chan!"

She blushed as she put a finger to her lips. "Oh~ I love how you say my name with that fear~"

"Let her go!" Ace yelled at her trying to pull against the chains.

Sadi took out her whip and hit Ace with it making him yell out and hit the wall behind him. "I came down here, because a boy by the name of Straw Hat Luffy said your name. Do you know why he is here? Do you know how he got in?"

Crystal glared at her not wanting to give her any information on her brother. Sadi threw her to the ground as she swished her whip in the air making it go over a hook. Sadi grabbed the other end of the whip and tied it around Crystal's wrists as she struggled; she pulled her whip as it slowly pulled Crystal up until she was dangling in the air about 3 feet.

"Now, unless you want a continuation of before, you'd better tell me the information I need." Sadi said threateningly.

Crystal shook in fear as she remembered the torture Sadi had put her through before she was put into the cell with Ace. She clenched her teeth as she narrowed her eyes at Sadi and spit at her in the face.

"You stupid girl!" Sadi yelled as she smacked Crystal across the cheek. "You won't tell us about your father, you won't tell us who you really are, you won't tell us about Fire Fist, and now you won't tell us about this boy! How much torture are you wanting to go through?!"

Crystal spit blood on the floor as she looked up at the woman and seethed. "I'll never tell you anything, even if you try to kill me."

Sadi looked at her and smiled as a blush crept across her cheeks. "Oh~ I just want to see your pained look! It makes me so HOT~" She let Crystal go as she heard her beast creatures groan to get out. "Oh well, we'll find out soon enough."

Crystal sat on the floor wrapping her arms around herself as she watched Sadi leave. "Stay away….Luffy." Crystal whispered as she crawled back over to Ace. He pulled her closer and more tightly now as he cupped her jaw in his hand and ran his thumb over her cheek where Sadi smacked her. He sighed as he pulled her to his chest and she curled up there still shaking in fear; she wasn't scared for herself, but for Ace, Luffy, her father, Jinbei, all the people around her. Ace slept hanging onto her as Crystal fell asleep listening to his heart beat; Crystal jerked awake as something tugged at her heart.

Crystal recognized this feeling, it was the same one she had with Sabo as he sailed out to sea. She knew it couldn't have been Ace as he was still sleeping by her and breathing. Two guards came by the cell as they checked on Fire Fist Ace and Tenshi No Crystal.

"Hey guards," Ace said catching their attention. "Tell me the truth! What's going on up above us?"  
The guards stared with blank faces not letting anything on. "Nothing at all." One told him.

Ace yelled at them for awhile to give him an answer as they ignored him and waited for why they came to their cell. Crystal climbed off his lap as she let him breath.

"Ace-san, I don't know anything about that woman, but wouldn't it be better to assume she was lying?

Ace didn't want to believe it as he jerked against his chains and looked up. "You're saying she came all the way down her just to lie to me?!" Ace yelled at Jinbei making the guards turn to him in wonder and irritation. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves down before he spoke again. "No, sorry, but you know, Jinbei…" Ace said after he calmed down. "…that's just the kind of brother he is. He just keeps doing reckless things!"

Crystal looked down at the floor knowing how true Ace's words were; if someone Luffy knew was in trouble he'd come and save them, no matter the cost to him. Luffy told her once that he does that, because she does, that he wants to do what Crystal does so he can become stronger than her.

"He's been making us worry about him since we were kids, that idiot!" Ace said closing his eyes as his voice became strained.

"Today's the day, huh?" The guard said finally speaking. "I hope there won't be any trouble."

"I wouldn't want a war to break out at Impel Down." The other guard added in.

"Warden Magellan should be here soon." The first told the other.

Crystal stared at Jinbei quickly reading on his face that he was thinking the same thing was going to happen. They were going to take Ace away for his execution; Crystal sat close by Ace as she ducked her head under his arm and wrapped her arms around his stomach as she laid on his chest.

Crystal watched with horror as Magellan, the blonde warden, and guards walked down the hallway heading for their cell with seastone handcuffs. Jinbei, Crystal and Ace glared at the men, as Crystal gripped onto Ace tighter and Ace looked up at them.

"Well, then, Portgas D. Ace." Magellan said addressing him. "You will now be taken to the city where your execution is to take place, Marineford!"

Shadows covered Ace's face as he hid the fear stuck in his heart. Crystal watched his eyes shine as they glazed over from his exhaustion. They opened the cell and walked towards Ace, looking down at Crystal as if she was a nuisance. Magellan grabbed Crystal and ripped her away from Ace holding her back as she tried to get to Ace once again.

"Let me go! I won't let you take him!" Crystal yelled at Magellan. She turned her head and bit him as he yelled and dropped her to the floor. She tried to run to Ace as Magellan grabbed her again holding her arms to her sides and her neck in place. Crystal began to kick her legs sporadically and landed one in his shin. He glared at her as his quick temper blew; he grabbed her neck and threw her across the room. Crystal hit the wall with a crack as her vision became littered with black dots; she fell to the floor gasping for air as she tried to get back up, but failed as her limbs weren't responding to her brain.

"Don't hurt her!" Ace yelled at him. "I'll go with you, just….just don't hurt her." Ace told them his voice becoming quiet.  
Magellan smirked as he nodded to the blonde; she undid Ace's chains as she changed his handcuffs and put his legs in connected chains so he couldn't run.

Crystal watched helplessly as they took Ace out of the cell and towards the ship they were transporting him with.

"Ace!" Crystal yelled looking up at him and reaching her hand out towards him. "Ace!" She whined watching him disappear from her sight. She clenched her teeth and fists as she vigorously pushed her muscles to make her body respond and get up.

Crystal got up as Jinbei closed his eyes not wanting to watch her pain. She bit her lip to hold the tears back as her brain finally connected back to her body and her vision cleared.  
Running footsteps were heard as a voice yelled out. "Ace!"

Crystal's eyes widened at the familiar voice. "Luffy!" She yelled back hoping he would hear her.

"Crystal! Where's Ace?" Luffy yelled looking from side to side in the cell.

"They took him!" Crystal said moving quickly to the cell cage. She began to panic thinking of how to get Ace to safety.

"Think angel-girl, how long ago?" A man Crystal recognized as Ivankov asked her.

"I don't know," She said defeated. It felt so long ago, but she didn't know if that was because her brain wasn't processing at the normal speed.

"Hey, are you straw hat Luffy?" Jinbei asked him quickly.

"Yeah," Luffy said staring at the man.

"They've just taken him. Chase after him!" Jinbei told him. "Ace-san was being escorted to the lift! GO! You can still make it if you hurry!"

"Who are you?" Luffy asked him.

"This is Jinbei! He's of friend of daddy's!" Crystal told Luffy.

"Right! Thanks!" Luffy said as he ran off.  
Ace stood with the guards and wardens letting them lead him to wear he was to be transported. The lift finally stopped as the door was lifted up for them to exit.

"Too bad for you. I've been informed Straw Hat arrived on Level Six not long after we left." Magellan told Ace.

Ace turned to stare at Magellan in horror as his panic not only transfixed on Crystal anymore, but his little brother who passed through all five hell's to help him and was now trapped down there as Ace was up here.

"The emergency sleeping gas was released a few moments ago." Magellan told him facing him. "Straw Hat's capture is only a matter of time now. It seems the freezing hell wasn't enough for him. Fortunately your cell is open now and we can inflict our ultimate torture on him down in Level Six, along with the angel looking girl. That would at least teach them that the will to fight won't always come with a good ending."

Ace turned around to stare at the lift they just exited as thoughts of panic and worry clouded his brain. All he knew was that he needed to get down to Luffy and Crystal as soon as possible before the marines got their hands on them. Ace turned back around and acted as if he was complying as he quickly kicked out hitting a man in the head and swung his leg the other way so his heel hit three other men in the head knocking them down. He ran towards the lift and into the onslaught of guards; one thrust his pitchfork at him as Ace bit down on it and threw the man with his pitchfork, knocking him into the other men and pushing them to the ground.

Magellan frowned as he walked to Ace and watched as Ace twirled the pitchfork in circles before hitting every guard around him with it. Magellan grabbed the pitchfork before throwing it away from Ace; Ace jumped back looking up at Magellan with a fierce glare. Ace made a last chance run for the lift, but didn't make it but a couple steps as Magellan slammed his hand down on top of Ace, smashing him to the floor.

"Stop this futile resistance!" Magellan said.

Ace watched as the door to the lift slid down and locked into place, making his last escape to his brother and Crystal closed off to him.

"Luffy! Crystal!" Ace yelled out.

"Your brother, and your girlfriend are also pirates by nature. There is no path to salvation for them." Magellan said watching Ace twitch in anger. Ace wanted to believe it was a lie that Luffy was here, same as how he wanted to believe it was a lie that Crystal was in that prison waiting to be sent to her execution.

The made Ace walk as they escorted him out of Impel down and onto a docking port where a naval ship was awaiting him. He looked around glumly as he took one last look at the prison, hoping that someway Luffy and Crystal would get out of their safely.

"Just on time, as agreed." The ship's Captain said.

"I hereby transfer custody of the notorious criminal Portgas D. Ace to the Navy." Magellan said formally.

Ace walked past Magellan and to the Navy as he looked back at the prison again hoping Luffy or Crystal would follow his paper to the exit. The captain walked Ace onto the boat readying him for his trip to Marineford.

Crystal sat against the wall blocking everything out as her brain went dormant. She couldn't believe she lost Ace again, and this time, if Luffy didn't make it, he was really going to die.

A laugh sounded through Level six making Crystal snap out of it and look up. "If you wanna escape from here, set me free." Crocodile told Luffy. "I can open a hole in the ceiling. So how about it?" He began to laugh again as he walked to the cell's metal cage.

She heard a gasp as she looked over and realized Luffy, Ivankov, and the other were still standing in Level Six.

"You!" Luffy said as he shook in anger. "You're a prisoner here? Crocodile!"

"Long time no see!" Crocodile said smirking. "Mugiwara!"

Luffy stared at Crocodile as they stared at each other with glares.

"I'd been thinking that if I were on the outside there'd be nothing going on to interest me." Crocodile told Luffy. "But now I hear the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy are going to war? I never thought I'd get the chance to take that old man's head. I'm interested in this war. With my powers, we can all escape from here. It's not a bad deal, is it?" Crocodile had a nasty smile on his face that sent chills through the room. "We've both got something to gain from it."

"Get real!" Luffy yelled at him walking up to the cage. "You're the one who messed up Vivi's country."  
"That is in the past." Crocodile said interrupting him. "I no longer have any interest in that country."

Luffy gritted his teeth as he stared at Crocodile. Crocodile's smile left his face as Ivan walked up next to Luffy.

"Let's release him, Mugiwara-boy." Ivan said looking at Crocodile. "He would certainly make a powerful ally."

"Eh?! Iva-chan! That guy's…" Luffy said pointing to Crocodile.

"Vou're stopping there." Iva said. "If vou're going to Navy HQ, vou'll need him even more."

Disgustion passed over Crocodile's face as he looked at the Drag Queen. "Ivankov."

"Long time no see, Croco-boy." He told Crocodile.

Crystal blocked out the rest as she looked at Jinbei for help but saw him lying back with his eyes closed.

"I beg of you!" Jinbei asked Luffy, making Crystal and Luffy look at him. "Please take me with you! I'll definitely be able to help you! I've known Ace-san ever since he joined the Whitebeard Pirates! He's told me everything about you, his little brother! I'm here because I was opposed to the war!" Jinbei explained hoping it would help make up his mind. "I wish to save Ace-san! Please! Let me choose the place of my death!"

"Sure," Luffy said looking at Jinbei.

"Hey, is that really okay?" The orange and white haired person asked.

"Yeah, as long as Crystal say's it's alright." Luffy said looking at her.

Crystal looked up at Luffy with sad eyes. "Onigai Luffy, we have to help Ace. Jinbei is an old friend of daddy's and used to watch over me as I grew up. He wouldn't hurt us."

The multi-colored hair person unlocked the door to the cell as Crystal slipped through and hugged Luffy close to her wanting to have someone solid there. The person clipped off Jinbei's and Crocodile's chains as they walked out and stood next to Luffy who was now hanging onto Crystal with sadness and worry washed over his face.

"We'll get him back, Crystal." Luffy told her as she looked up to him. She nodded to him as she let go and stood next to Jinbei.

"I'd have never thought we'd be bringing two warlords along." The person said.

"Two? Who's the other?" Luffy asked confused.

Crystal shook her head at her slow brother as Jinbei spoke up. "I'm grateful to you. Now, I might be able to be of some use to him."

Crocodile hummed at Jinbei's answer. "Even if you were able to prevent the war between Whitebeard and the Navy, it wouldn't matter in the long run. One way or another I will take that old man's head."

"I won't let you lay a hand on Whitebeard, Crocodile!" Jinbei said glaring at said person.

"I agree with Jinbei. You'd have to go through me to get to daddy." Crystal said crossing her arms.

"In that case, maybe I should kill you now?" Crocodile said holding up his hook.

"Go ahead and try," Crystal said glaring at him.

"Croco-boy, your past, remember?" Iva said making Crocodile 'ch' and face the other way. "Well then, there's no time to waste. We're gonna force our way out of this prison!"

Multi-colored hair used its clippers and made a stone spiral staircase leading up into a hole Crocodile created as they ran up it and away from Level Six. They followed Iva to his hide out and helped a friend of Luffy's out before they headed out to Level Five and charged as Luffy ran ahead of everyone.

Ace sat chained to a cement chair as the ship moved on a current to Marineford. He looked up at the sky wishing, no hoping, they made it out safe, it's all he could do. Ace stared in fear as the doors to Marineford appeared and opened before them, letting Ace in to his execution.

Crystal followed alongside Luffy as they ran up the stairs and Jinbei gave them the information they need for the execution and the plan he thinks Whitebeard will use. Crocodile turned a door into sand as guards greeted them on the other side with guns; they began to fire at Crocodile as he countered with sand and sucked the moisture out of their bodies before they had a chance to react. Luffy began to rapidly punch the guards, Jinbei punched the air as the guards slowly began to move back by air before being thrown away by a force, and Crystal used her wind and fire to throw the men away from her and off the side of the bridge. Crocodile walked up to a cell and recruited an old friend named Mister One as the guards were defeated.

Iva, Inazuma, as Crystal found out the person's name was, and the crowd they slowly gathered came along in time as more guards blocked the whole bridge way to the exit. They smashed through the guards in no time as the exit came closer and closer.

Luffy took out the rest of the guards by pushing them off the bride as everyone ran for all they had towards the exit. They soon brought Blugori guards out as they too became no match for the strong prisoners and Iva's death wink. Sadi brought out her pets and Crystal and Luffy were about to fight them as Iva's followers stepped in front of them and told them they would handle the creatures. Soon they got the creatures tied up in chains so they couldn't move as many of the followers pulled against the chains making it impossible to even try and blink. The creatures broke the chains around them as they began to hit any target they could around them.

The group decided to take it into their own hands as Crocodile engulfed one into a tornado of sand sending it flying, Jinbei used the same force he used against the guards to send his flying over everyone, Luffy and Crystal worked together as Luffy punched it back and Crystal made it fly into the air and pushed it into the wall with a crushing force.

"Luffy! We have to hurry!" Crystal told him desperately.

Ivan threw Luffy and Crystal forward as he took Sadi on; Crystal turned back worried about Iva, but instead stared in confusion as a female Iva was now standing there.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Crystal said helping Luffy out of the wall.

The other's rush forward as Inazuma tells us that we need to move on. Crystal and Luffy comply, but stop with the others as the doors open and the assistant warden stands there holding a two sword katana.


	16. The Escape Whitebeard's Arrival

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**R&R**

**Chapter 16, please enjoy!**

* * *

Crystal watches Hannyabal with weary eyes as she hears a click above them, "Move!" She yells at Luffy and Inazuma. They listen to her as all of them jump up into the air and away as bullets hit the floor, no not bullet's nets, Crystal saw as she looked back at some of the prisoners who were not caught in nets, trapping them from running anywhere.

Hannyabal laughs making them look once again at him. "Behold!" He said waving his arm out behind him. Crystal tenses as she sees row upon row of hundreds of guards standing there with Bazooka's. "I've got a thousand men guarding the stairs to Level Three, all wielding Bazooka's loaded with special prison ammunition!"

Crystal heard Luffy clench his teeth next to her as he glared at the men. Crystal watched them men trying to figure out how long it would take if they fought through all those men.

"There's no escape for you!" Hannyabal yelled.

Luffy, Inazuma and Crystal clenched their teeth in frustration at realizing that they were taking too much time to get out of Impel Down. Luffy walked forward towards Hannyabal until they were directly across from each other.

Hannyabal took a deep breath before he got into his battle position with his two sided katana. "To defend the bright future of the defenseless citizens, Mugiwara, infamous, world-renowned pirate, I will carry out your sentence on the Warden's behalf!"

Luffy's eyes narrowed at Hannyabal as his face showed fury. "Move it!" Hannyabal rejected his offer making Luffy turn furious. Luffy charged toward him as Hannyabal twirled his katana in the air. "I said move!" Hannyabal ignored him as he slash the sword down at him making Luffy jump out of its way.

Hannyabal spun his sword around quickly from side to side until it hit the stone walls and caught the sword on fire as he continued to spin it. Luffy tried his best to dodge the sword, but kept having to back up as the flames heated his skin and the blades threatened to cut him.

"Luffy!" Crystal yelled. "Gear second! Now!" she commanded him. Luffy did as she said as she charged towards Hannyabal. Crystal jumped into the air making Hannyabal turn his sword towards Crystal; she flipped in the air before smashing her foot into his sword making it stop spinning. The flames go out on the sword as she swings her foot still in the air and smashes it on the side of his head.  
"Gear Second!" Luffy yells behind her. "Gomu Gomu no jet gatling gun!" Luffy said shooting forward. Crystal jumped out of the way as Luffy wailed on Hannyabal repeatedly with his fists. Hannyabal falls to the floor unconscious and bloody as Luffy watches to make sure he stays down. Luffy grabbed Crystal's hand as he pulled her along past Hannyabal; Crystal stopped as someone grabbed her ankle.

"Let me go!" Crystal yelled turning and kicking Hannyabal's hand away.

Luffy turned and glared at Hannyabal as the opponent got up off the ground. Hannyabal swiped his sword at them making Luffy grab Crystal and jump away from the attack. An all out war between guards and prisoners rang out as Crystal and Luffy worked together to hit Hannyabal any way they could. Sometimes Luffy would hit him with second gear and other times Crystal would use her wind to slash at him or knock him on his back; but it seemed no matter what they did, he kept getting up.

"Dammit, move!" Crystal yelled at him hitting him in the stomach. "We have to get Ace or…or…" Crystal couldn't finish her thought for fear of breaking down.

The battle around them slowed down as Inazuma, Iva, Crocodile, Mister One, Jinbei and Crystal watched Luffy battle Hannyabal.

"Damn it! Ace is…Just get out of my way!" Luffy yelled at him. Hannyabal got thrown back by Luffy; he got back up spitting blood out of his mouth as the other guards begged him to stay down or he was going to die.

"Please! Ace is important to us! So move!" Crystal yelled coming up next to Luffy.

"I don't care if he is important to you criminals! He is going to die, so just give it up!" Hannyabal yelled at them.

"I'll ask you again…" Crystal said her temper bubbling over. "…MOVE!"

Hannyabal stood his ground as he smirked evilly at her. "Never!"

"I….SAID…..MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!" Crystal yelled as the fire underneath the bridge flies up and surrounds her as she flicks her hand out. Wind swirls around with the fire as she thrusts her hand out and both wind and fire fly at Hannyabal and surround him before throwing him against the wall until his skin was blistering and his breath was sucked out of him, knocking him out and onto the floor.

Hannyabal once again tried to get back up when a foot came crashing down on his face pushing him into the floor hard. Crystal glared as Blackbeard looked up and smirked at her; guards fell out of his darkness with eyes and faces white as sheets

"Hello, _**Angel**_," Blackbeard said staring at her.

"Blackbeard!" Crystal growled.

"Well, this sure is quite an impressive group." Blackbeard said looking at all of them. "We've walked in on a pretty important event, eh?" He laughed out as every stared in shock.

"Teach! What are you doing here?" Jinbei yelled clenching his fists so tight the veins were bulging. "Or I suppose I should call you Blackbeard now?"

Luffy choked on his breath at hearing that name again; Blackbeard, the one who put Ace and Crystal in prison.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so violent. Mind loosening that fist of yours?" Blackbeard asked him with a smirk. "Oh yeah, I heard you and Ace were good friends, huh? But I'm not the one you should be blaming here."

Luffy stared with anger as his eyes began to dilate and shake from his anger. Blackbeard looked him in the eye as Luffy clenched his fists to keep strong. "So you're…" Luffy began as his arm began to shake in fury. He walked towards Blackbeard making him stop his laughing and watch. "So you're Blackbeard?!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I never introduced myself, did I?" Blackbeard said looking down at him. "Long time no see, Mugiwara. I sure was surprised when I heard you were Commander Ace's little brother!" Blackbeard said holding up his hands. Shouldn't you be there? They're gonna start soon, ya know? Your brother's execution that is!" Crystal watched as she say Luffy struggle with holding himself back as his anger tried to push him to beat Blackbeard. "From what I hear, you're the one who took down the ex-warlord Crocodile over there, huh?" He said pointing to Crocodile staring down at them. "Back then, when I was still trying to become a warlord, I thought the best idea was to kill you and use that to prove my strength to the World Government." Blackbeard remembered the day Ace, Crystal and he had the battle and smiled as his eyes dilated that sent chills through Crystal's body that felt like it froze her heart. "But it seems fate was in your favor. Ace and Crystal, who had been chasing me ever since I broke the laws of Whitebeard's ship, just happened to be your brother and childhood friend! Once they realized we were planning to kill his little brother, they just had to fight us themselves!"

"Why don't you try killing me now!" Luffy yelled going into Second Gear again and hitting Blackbeard with a jet pistol.

Blackbeard writhed in pain on the ground as he held his head in his hands with blood dripping down his face. Blackbeard got back up laughing baiting Luffy one until he tried to attack again, and used the same move on Luffy as he did on Ace when he punched Ace in the stomach. Luffy lost his temper as Blackbeard kept talking smack about Ace, but before Luffy could attack Ace again, Jinbei stepped in and grabbed Luffy making him calm down before he let him go.

"We're going to save Ace," Luffy told him grabbing Crystal's wrist and tugging her along with him.

"Sure go ahead, I'm not going to say it's useless." Blackbeard said smiling. "After all, there's no such thing as 'impossible' in this world."

Luffy looked back at Blackbeard for a moment before walking on. Luffy kept on walking as people started to fight the Minotaurus with problems. They warned Crystal not to go there as she slid her arm out of Luffy's grasp and kept walking forward towards the beast man. Everybody watched her as she walked towards the Minotaurus in anger.

"Move," Crystal said looking up at it as her eyes flashed red. It stared down at her with fear as sweat began to build up on its face. It glared down at her as it swung its club down; Crystal moved to the side as the club smashed into the ground. "I said move," Crystal said her eyes turning solid red. She looked straight into its eyes as a force slams into the Minotaurus and flings him back passed the doors and into the wall knocking it out instantly as it stuck into the wall.

"No way! She took out the demon guard without even touching it!"

"Amazing!"

Everyone took off running up the stairway and into Level three as a roar was heard behind them; they ran faster through Level three as Magellans poison dragons started to attack people. Crystal and Luffy look back in fear as they watch the dragons take out a whole section of their followers. They clenched their teeth and kept running, knowing they couldn't stop now or Ace would die before they could help. Crystal watched with worry as Inazuma and Iva showed the way out to everyone but stayed behind to fight Magellan as he walked up to them with anger purely shown on his face.

"Where's Iva?" Crystal asked Inazuma as he came up. He didn't answer Crystal making her and Luffy stop to look behind them. Bon Clay stopped them before they could run to help Iva as he told them how Iva was helping them get away, so we had to get out and hope Iva would be okay.

"Move!" Inazuma said as he pushed Crystal forward.

She looked back to find a dragon hit Inazuma and covered him in its poison. They ran into buggy and Mister three and the followers they gathered, but were trapped as Magellan was behind them and guards along with demon beasts were in front of them. Luffy took off towards Magellan wanting to avenge Iva and Inazuma as Bon Clay held him back.  
"Luffy!" Crystal said wrapping her arms around his stomach to pull him back and stop him from charging. "We can't! We have to save Ace! We don't have time to fight Magellan!"

"Hydra!" Magellan yelled sending his dragons after them.

Crystal stood frozen as the dragon loomed over her; she closed her eyes waiting for the pain but when none came she looked and saw Mister three had created a wall.

"Hurry and get out of here! I want to escape too you know!" Mister three said.

"Thank you," Crystal whispered as she grabbed Luffy's arm and tried to drag him along with her to no avail.

He walked up to Mister three and whispered something in his ear as he stood back up and cracked his knuckles. "Okay, let's fight together!"

Luffy raced forward and jumped into the air as Three made candle wax gloves around Luffy's arms and hands, and wax machine feet onto his legs.  
"I see what they're doing." Crystal said with a smirk. "For once Luffy has a good plan."

Three kept building walls to block the poison as he made shields for the others to put their cannons through. They fired at him relentlessly as one after the other hit the dragons and Magellan. Crystal watched as the others ran up the stairs to take down the guards who were there waiting for the ambush. Jinbei grabbed Crystal and ran after them as they made a break to Level two and then to the top. They stopped as they tried to think of a plan with Bon and Mister One about how they were going to steal a ship without the others all turning on them and sinking it. Crystal ran outside to where buggy was and looked in shock as all the warships were gone.

"No," Crystal whispered feeling her hope sink into her stomach. Crystal looked out at the sea until Jinbei walked past with the large door they just came through and laid in on the sea top.

"Crystal get on," Jinbei told her.  
She nodded her head as she jumped onto the door and put Ace's hat back on her head; she grabbed the ribbon and tied her hair up and took off the bandages the marines put on her. The men behind her began to hoot and holler at her as they now had a full view of her body. Mister one and Crocodile walked on and stood next to her as Buggy jumped on as well. Jinbei took off quickly making Crystal take a step back to steady herself.

"Careful," Mister One said bringing up his hand to press it against her shoulder blade to keep her steady.

"Thanks." She told him before redirecting her attention to the warships ahead of them.

Jinbei dodged the cannonballs as the ships fired at them making the ocean explode in bursts of water.

"I'll launch you onto the deck of one of the ships! Hang on tight!" Jinbei yelled to them.

Crystal prepared herself as Buggy began to trip out and panic all over the place.

"Buggy," Crystal said his name gently. He looked over at her with pink across his face and hearts in his eyes. "Shut up," She told him harshly watching as the hearts broke into pieces of glass.

Crocodile and Mister One chuckled as they looked down at the girl. "You're not so bad Tenshi no Crystal." Crocodile told her.

"Not so much of an angel when someone messes with the people around me." She said as her eyes flashed red.

"Those eyes…" Mister One said looking at her closely. "I think I've seen them before."

"You probably have," Crystal said giving him a look with her flashing eyes that said to drop it.

The warships fired at them as cannonballs came straight for them; Jinbei made it just in time as they were flung into the air by a giant vortex of water as the cannonballs hit the surface. The door headed for their mast as Mister One grabbed Crystal and jumped, they landed on the other side of the mast as the door crashed and Buggy fell next to them. Mister One put Crystal down as he stood up with Crocodile and stared down at the men watching them with horror. They jumped down as the guards pointed their swords and guns at the three who landed on the deck as Buggy was still unconscious on the mast.

A whirlwind appeared in the sea next to the ship as Jinbei arose from the center; he grabbed the whirlwind and sent it after the men on the ship crashing it into them and destroy a part of the ship.

"Jinbei!" Crystal yelled slapping her forehead. "Don't destroy the ship!"

"Oh, how careless of me!" Jinbei said watching the men from the sea still. "That's the ship were gonna use, isn't it?"

Crocodile began to dehydrate the men around him and send them into the air with sand, and One slashed at everyman that came towards him. He looked at Crystal and saw the men coming after her and began to slash at them also. Crystal looked at him with confusion and saw he was trying to protect her.

"One, I don't need help." Crystal said to him.

He looked at her in surprise as he realized he was protecting her as he slashed at any man that came near her. Crystal snickered as she realized he didn't know he was and looked around. She grabbed his arm making him stop before he slashed at another; she reached snapped her fingers as wind picked up around them and threw the men around them into the air and over the side of the boat.

"See?" She said to him with a smile. She walked over to Jinbei as he climbed aboard the ship with a den den mushi. "Luffy are you there?"

"I'm here! He's still chasing us, though!" The den den mushi said with Luffy's voice. "We're gonna hit a dead end at the exit!"

"Forgive me. We've stolen a ship, but we're too far away from you!" Jinbei said apologetically. "But don't stop moving! Jump straight into the sea! Get everyone to throw themselves into the ocean! You can leave the rest to me and Crystal!"

Crystal watched and waited until she saw Iva fly through the air with everyone on his head. "Jinbei!"

Whale's rushed through the water quickly as they bounced them back into the air. Crystal took a deep breath as she waved her wands in circles; the wind followed her commands as it made a cushion underneath Iva and the ones who fell off as it carried them across the water and to the ship. She dropped them on the boat as everyman began to cheer in joy as they made it out of Impel Down.

Crystal braced herself as the other ships began open fire on them as Jinbei steered the ship as best as he could from the cannonballs. She looked up in surprise as the giants gates began to open.

"How?" She asked herself. She turned as Luffy began to fight with Jinbei about why Bon-chan had to stay behind and she realized what was going on. Bon clay had stayed behind and impersonated the warden to get the gates open, and by how the gates were beginning to close, were going to close behind them and trap the Navy back at Impel Down.

Crystal watched with sadness as Luffy had to say goodbye to another one of his friends as they passed through the gates. But she knew that Luffy understood that Bon was doing this on his own to help them get to Ace so they could save his life.

"Bon Clay!" Crystal said quickly as the reception was becoming fuzzy. Everyone silenced as the den den mushi looked at her. "Thank you. Thank you for protecting Luffy, and letting us go on to save Ace. It's a great sacrifice, and I promise I will do everything in my power to repay you one day. No matter what remember that you have a…." Crystal's mouth continued to move as her words were blocked out by shots fired to the other men on the ship.

"Thank you Crystal!" Bon clay said as he cried on the other side.

"Wait! Is that who you are?" Magellan said on the other side his voice shook with shock and fear. She heard him barking orders behind him as he commanded them to get her as soon as possible. She smiled sadly as the reception ended between them and the gates closed behind the ship.

"Crystal, why did you tell him?" Luffy asked her knowing what she said.

"Because only a true friend would risk his life to save another. Beside's everyone is going to know soon enough as we get to Marineford." She told him as she gave him a small hug.

Jinbei stared at her with wonder along with One, and Crocodile as they all wanted to know what she told Bon Clay.

After awhile people took off around the ship to do what they want, eat, sleep, drink, mope, whatever they wanted; Crystal decided to stay up by Jinbei as he steered the ship to where they were going.

"I'd heard that talking to fish was a special ability all Fishmen had," Crocodile said as he sat on a lone cannon nearby. "but I'm impressed you were able to summon those sharks."

"Is it strange for Fishmen to be on good terms with fish?" Jinbei asked Crocodile.  
"Not unless you're Ace and thinks the fishman is a cannibal for eating fish." Crystal said smirking at something Ace had done to Jinbei before.

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Jinbei said smirking. He watched Crystal in front of him sitting on the railing and noticed how her eyes didn't have the light they normally did, how her smile was even sad now. He tried to imagine how bad she would be if they didn't manage to save Ace from the marines.

Luffy propelled himself up onto the railing and stood there looking at Jinbei.

"Luffy-kun." Jinbei said getting his attention. "Thanks to you, I have a chance to save Ace-san. I'm indebted to you."

"Oh, don't say that. It's no problem at all." Luffy said putting his straw hat on his head as he jumped off the railing. "I feel better that you're here, too. You're really strong!"

"This incident isn't the only thing I owe you my thanks and apologies for," Jinbei said turning his face slightly. "but now is not the time for that. We've got one goal at the moment. You can call me Jinbei. Let's unleash hell at the Navy HQ!"

Everyone started to panic at what Jinbei said; they all thought they would escape and be home free, they didn't think we would go to Navy HQ to be a part of the war that is soon ahead. Crystal soon got irritated by all the people who had little faith in themselves and others as they whined and cried about how they were going to get killed.

"SHUT UP!" Crystal yelled making everybody silence themselves. She stood up on the railing as she looked at everyone. "All of you were put in the prison for doing something wrong! And now you are all becoming cowards! If you have so little faith in us, who got you out of the prison, and Whitebeard, then I suggest you jump off the ship and get away now!" People stared at her in horror, never seeing her get like this yet. "Whitebeard and the Navy are going to have an all out war for Ace, and I'm not about to let that scumbag of a Navy win! They tell us they fight for justice, but all they do is wrongly accuse people so they seem like they're doing right to the people! I'm going to fight alongside Whitebeard tell help save Ace along with many friends we have here now." Crystal stated to them. "If you're so self centered you'd rather let your friends and ally's die because you're a coward, then go ahead and leave. If I have to fight alone with Daddy then so be it! But I would have thought better of all of you!"

People looked down in sorrow as they realized how they were acting; someone began to cheer on Crystal as more and more people joined in with him until the whole ship was cheering.

"The Navy and Marine's put you in that prison because they saw you as a threat against them! They saw you as a threat that could reveal what they have done wrong!" Crystal yelled to them over the cheers with a smile. "If they want a threat! LET'S GIVE THEM A THREAT!"

Cheers were heard loudly across the ship as everyone was finally on board with the plan. Jinbei and Luffy smiled at her as Crocodile and One watched with smirks and amusement.

The cheers died down after awhile as Crystal held up her hand to shush them. "Do you hear that?"

People began to listen as they found the source to be a Snail Phone ringing. Crystal jumped down to Luffy and a group who watched the phone with worry. Luffy picked up the phone and answered it without hesitation.

"Uh, hello?" Luffy asked.

"This is Navy HQ," The other side said.

"Yeah, and I'm Luffy," Luffy answered honestly making Crystal smack herself in the head.

"We received word from the Impel Down convoy that this ship has been taken over by the escapee's. Judging from the information we received before we lost contact with Impel Down, we've determined that there are two men responsible for the break out. The pirate, Straw Hat Luffy, and his fellow pirate, Buggy the Clown."

Buggy began to cry as he questioned why he had to be the other one that they were hunting down; Crystal began to laugh as the marine continued on.

"We'd underestimated you, thinking you were a no-name pirate. Buggy the Clown, we never would have thought that you were a former crewmate of the Pirate King, Gold Roger."  
"How'd he find out?" Buggy said freaking out.

"You're so stupid," Crystal said laughing as the others freaked out.

"We've also received word that you are like a brother to Red Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors. I'm impressed that a man such as you would lie low underwater until this incident came along. But since you've come here, you've shown your true strength. We've yet to find any connections between you and Fire Fist Ace, but I'm sure your objective is the same as Straw Hat Luffy's, to save Ace. We've also confirmed that Jinbei, Crocodile, Ivankov, as well as over 200 other escapee's, are on board that ship. The only thing we don't know is who that girl is that helped you escape the prison; she goes by Tenshi No Crystal, but there is no other information on her."

Everyone looked at her as she stopped laughing and smirked at the den den mushi. "Damn right you don't."

"I'm warning you now, unless we open the Gates of Justice, you will not be able to reach Marinford, nor will you be able to escape the Tarai Current. There is no sea to escape to, nor anywhere else to go. You'd better resign yourselves to that. That is all."

"Hey, wait, Navy!" Luffy said halting them. He took a deep breath as he yelled into the phone. "I'm definitely going to save Ace! So just wash your potatoes and wait!"

"Luffy," Crystal said holding her hand out. He handed the phone to her as she stepped close to it, everyone watching. "Hey Navy HQ, this is Tenshi No Crystal."  
"The girl we cannot find any information on."  
"Yep." Crystal said. "And you're not going to find any either." She told them her voice growing dark and threatening. "I'm going to ask for you to release Ace before this gets messy." Dark shadows began to fall around everyone as they watched Crystal.  
"We will not do that. He will be executed at his time. And in time, all of you will be captured and we WILL find information on you yet Tenshi No Crystal."

"Really?" She said her eyes growing dark with hate. "Well then, I hope you know you just made yourself the worst enemy you could possibly have in the world. You want to know who I am? You'll find out soon enough. Even if you don't open the gates, we will get in." She threatened them. "You may want to warn your comrades that because you won't let him go, there will be a lot of blood on my hands now. Prepare yourself." Crystal clicked the phone down before the Marines could say anything else as she turned and jumped back up to where Jinbei and Crocodile were.

Buggy got the crowd in an uproar in cheering his name as he brought up a conversation about the Vice Captain Rayleigh. The crowd was gathering weapons and threatening to take over the ship as Crystal watch Crocodile bring up a small sand tornado in his hand as One changed his arms into the blades, prepared for a battle if so be it. Finally they dropped their weapons as buggy took in the cheers from all around.

"Idiots," Crystal said watching the seas.

"Crystal," Jinbei said making her look at him. "What did you mean by that?"

Crocodile, One and Iva looked at her curiously wondering the same thing.

"Did daddy tell you about me?" Crystal asked him.

"Daddy?" Iva asked confused.

"Whitebeard? No, not at all, I just knew he had a daughter." Jinbei said. "Which is why I don't understand how they don't know about you."

"Y-y-y-y-you're Whitebeard's daughter?" Iva yelled flying back against the side of the ship.

Crystal glanced at Iva as she looked at Jinbei again. "Did daddy tell you how I'm only his adoptive daughter? Did he tell you how he took me in once my siblings were murdered and my parents didn't want me?" Jinbei stared in disbelief at her words as he watched her eyes sadden. "Whitebeard is the only father I've had. But soon enough the marines will know who I really am." Crystal said looking away from everyone and out to the sea. "Everyone will understand what I'm talking about once they know my real name."

Ace looked up at Marineford in fear as they took him off the ship and into a holding cell before anyone saw him. After a couple hours two guards came to his cell and stood at attention.

"It's time," They told the other two as the cell opened and Ace sat there chained to the floor as he awaited them to get him. They quickly began to undo all of the chains holding him to the chair and floor until they all dropped away. "Stand up."

Ace looked up as they opened the cell door once again; they put new chains on his wrist as the guards held the long lengths in their hands. Ace's face grew glum as he slipped on the shoes they prepared for him; he couldn't help but remember the day he made the promise to Ace and Crystal that he would never die, and now he was being taken to his death. He couldn't help but feel as if he let them down. Ace walked down a long hallway guarded on either side by the Navy's soldiers as the only sound that could be heard were the footsteps as they walked and the chains as they swung with his body. Guards opened up a large doorway as Ace looked up at a stairway that seemed to have no end to it as it reached up into the darkness; but no one had to tell him that this would be the stairway leading to the execution platform.

They commanded him to climb as he did as they said starting his long walk up the stairs; his face carried shadows over his eyes in fear of what was to come. His fear though reached more out to his brother and Crystal as he wondered what happened to them at Impel Down. He longed to see them one last time, but didn't want them to come here for fear they would be killed. His emotions and thoughts were so conflicted it was all he could do to keep walking with one foot in front of the other without forgetting where he was going.

Ace remembered the time he told Crystal and Luffy how they would live their lives with no regrets, and so far that was true to him, he had a few regrets, not listening to Whitebeard, not helping his brother out more, having Teach as a subordinate, not being able to stop Blackbeard, but most of his regrets were centered around Crystal; he regretted not telling her how he felt, he regretted seeing her so hurt and not being able to do anything, he regretted bringing her with him to find Blackbeard, he regretted that she had to risk her life to save him, but he knew one thing, he'd never regret the day he met her and the time they spent together.

They had reached the end of the stairway as two wide doors opened up before them letting in a blinding light; they nudged Ace on as he walked with them out into the light, towards his death. Ace looked down as he heard the rumble of people cheering and talking; he walked down the steps leading to the platform and then up the steps that marked his final steps. Silence greeted him as he knelt down and the guards chained him up to the platform; he looked out to sea as two swords were crossed in front of him. Sengoku walked up onto the platform and stopped next to Ace as he held a den den mushi to his lips.

"I have an announcement for you all." Sengoku said as everyone silenced and looked at their Fleet Admiral. "Portgas D. Ace, the death of this man today, holds great significance. Ace! Tell me your father's name!"

Ace looked up surprised as he turned his head to Sengoku with a glare. "My father is Whitebeard." Ace told him looking back down.

"Not true!" Sengoku said looking at him.

"It is! My father is Whitebeard! I have no other father!" Ace yelled at him growing angry.

"Years ago, we put all our resources into searching for a man." Sengoku explained. "We suspected he might have a child on a certain island. We relied entirely on this possibility and Cipher Pol's vague information. Children who had just been born, and children who were about to be born. We thoroughly investigated all the mother's but we couldn't find him. But I suppose that was to be expected. Your mother risked her life to deliver you safely. She performed a special trick, which she pulled off through sheer willpower. She deceived our eyes…no, the eyes of the world! In south blue, there is an island called Baterilla. You're mother's name is Portgas D. Rouge." Ace's eyes widened in horror as he listened to Sengoku, but still never looked up at him. "She managed to defy common sense with sheer willpower to protect her child. She carried her child in her womb for 20 whole months." Ace started to sweat as he grew angry at Sengoku for bringing his mother into this, and had fear for what he was about to tell everyone. "She used all of her strength, and as soon as she gave birth to you, she died. A year and three months after the father's death, a child was born, carrying the blood of the most evil man in the world. That child was you!"

Ace clenched his teeth as his anger began to bubble over once again; he never wanted this to be known, and now Sengoku was telling the whole world.

"I'm sure you already know. You're father is…" Sengoku said as everyone awaited the news. "…The Pirate King, Gold Roger." People stared in shock as the new hit them hard, the man they executed so many years ago had a child; they couldn't believe the blood of the Pirate King, Gold Roger, still lived on.

"Since you took the name of your mother, formed the Spade Pirates, and ventured to the seas with formidable strength and speed. At that point we finally realized. We had not stopped Roger's bloodline! But Whitebeard, who realized it at the same time we did, decided to raise you to become the next Pirate King, and let the son of his old rival on his own ship!" Sengoku scrutinized.

"That's not true!" Ace yelled in fury as he shook his head. "I got on that pirate ship so I could make the old man the Pirate King!"  
"You're the only one that thinks that!" Sengoku yelled back. Ace looked up in surprise and anger at the same time. "We were careful not to act recklessly, you were under Whitebeard's protection!" Ace gasped in realization and shock at his statement. "But left unchecked, you'd undoubtedly inspire a new generation of pirates. That is why your execution here today holds such significance. Even if we must go to war with Whitebeard!"

Cheers were heard around the HQ as marines shouted in agreement; Sengoku wasn't expecting what happened next as a soldier came up and told him how the gates were opening, and they couldn't contact the engine room.

Crystal looked at the Gate as she tried to think of a way to open it up quickly; Luffy suggested he punch it, while Three suggested we knock, making Crystal sigh in defeat for the two. She looked up quickly as the Gates began to open on their own making Crystal tense up. The boat began to rock from one side to the other tremendously as Crystal grabbed on to Jinbei and everyone else began to slide.

Ace looked up as someone rang the alarm and his eyes widened as they registered what he was seeing; where just moments ago a clear ocean was seen, there were now 43 ships sailing in.

"They came out of nowhere! But where did they come from?" Sengoku asked himself.

Soldiers began to panic as they looked at the pirates on the ships; all of them were world-renowned pirates that were difficult to beat and were known for never being caught.

The ocean began to make sounds as people began to realize how they got in, but still could not find Whitebeard. Bursts of water shot up into the air as if air bubble's came to the surface and popped. Sengoku stared in shock as the Moby Dick raised out of the ocean and jumped to the edge of the HQ landing. Ace stared as his eyes grew in shock and fear, knowing that the ship that just came out of the water was Whitebeards.

"All 14 Commander's are here!"

Ace watched as a clank was heard repeatedly as Whitebeard walked onto his figure head and stood with a smile. "How many decades has it been, Sengoku? I take it my beloved son is still doing well?"

Crystal stood by Luffy as Iva watched with a smile once they passed the gates.

"Now then, I wonder if you and Ace-boy's father will show up." Iva said with a smirk.

"Ace's father?" Crystal and Luffy asked confused.

"Since his son Ace is about to be executed I'm sure Dragon will do something." Iva pointed out.

Crystal laughed at Iva as he looked at her confused.

"Oh, me and Ace don't have the same dad." Luffy said. "My dad is dragon, but Ace's dad is Gold Roger."

"Ah! Luffy!" Crystal told him shocked.

"It's pretty amazing, but I heard that they never met." Luffy said smiling. "Even though Ace will probably get angry for tell you."

"Luffy you can't keep a secret you know that?" Crystal said smack his head.

Whitebeard laughed shortly as he looked at Ace with a smile. "Wait just a little bit longer, Ace."

Ace shook in fear as cold sweat dripped down his face. "O-OYAJI!"

Whitebeard stabbed his bisento into the figure head as he pulled his arms in tight while the wind blew heavily on him. He smirked as he stood up and smashed his fists on either side of him; the air around his fists cracked like glass as the spider webs moved far from his fists. The soldiers stared in confusion as the waves began to move into the air to form a giant waves on either side of the HQ. The waves collapsed back down as Whitebeard stared at Ace.

"Oyaji…everyone…" Ace said as he looked up at them sadly. "I ignored your orders and ran off! Why didn't you just abandon me?! This only happened because I was so stubborn! I even dragged Crystal into it, your own daughter!"

"No, I was the one who told you to go." Whitebeard said making Ace stop his rant and stare in surprise. "My son."

Ace looked at Whitebeard with surprise and then to the Commander's standing there, ready to attack whenever their Captain made the order. He clenched his teeth as he clenched his fists together. "You're lying! Don't be ridiculous! You tried to stop me back then, but I…!"

"I told you to go!" Whitebeard yelled interrupting him. "I told him to go, ain't that right Marco?"

"Yeah, I heard it too. We sent you into a lot of trouble, huh, Ace?" Marco said standing there. "This entire ocean should know what happens when someone harms one of our crewmates."

"Anyone who hurts you won't be allowed to live, Ace!"

"Hang on! We're coming for you right now!"

"Prepare yourselves, Navy HQ!" Whitebeard yelled.

Ace stared at them as he clenched his teeth to stop the tears wanting to come as the Whitebeard Pirates cheered with approval and were ready to attack.

A powerful wind passed by the warship Crystal and the others were on as the waves moved around them and people had to hang onto the boat so they wouldn't fly off.

"We were moving slowly before! But at least we were moving forward!" Luffy said hanging onto his hat. "What's going on?"

Ace's hat flew off her head and behind her as the string whipped around her neck. "Daddy!" Crystal said in realization with the wind flowing past her.

The wind died as everyone got up and recovered from the blast.

"We need to hurry!" Crystal said as she flicked her hands and wind picked up from the other way pushing them towards the HQ.

Ace watched as a tsunami rose up around Navy HQ and the soldiers began to panic.

"We might have him outnumbered, but don't assume that it guarantee's victory. It's possible that we will be the ones to meet our end! That man has the power to destroy the world!" Sengoku said worriedly.

Waves towered over Navy HQ as they rose beyond their limits before they crashed down on Navy HQ. Aokiji interrupted the waves mission as he shot ice out of his hands and made it hit the waves, freezing the entire waves where they were to the core. He turned to Whitebeard and sent out ice spears towards him; Whitebeard turned and slammed his fist into the air again as it spider webbed around his fist. It broke the spears and half of Aokiji's frozen face as he slammed down towards the water; Aokiji froze the water in the entire bay before he landed in the water himself.

The marines began fire as the Whitebeard Pirates jumped off their ships and ran across the ice to fight the marines. The commander's jumped off their ship following their men as they dodged every cannon blast; marines ran to meet the pirates in battle as pirates and marines began the war that everyone was awaiting for. All across the HQ the sounds of metal against metal and bangs were heard as screams of pain and battle cries mixed in with charging footsteps from both sides. Whitebeard stood as his crewmates battled around him; Mihawk slashed his sword down as a green slash cut through the ice towards Whitebeard making everyone watch in wonder. Jozu ran in front of the slash and stopped it before it could hit Whitebeard and his ship; marines stared in shock as Jozu's body was covered in diamonds, ones that wouldn't break.

Mihawk slid his sword back into place as he stared Jozu in the eyes. A bright light flashed above everyone, and as it cleared it revealed Admiral Kizaru up in the air; he shot light bullets out of his hands as he decided to join the battle. The bullets headed straight for Whitebeard as Marco unleashed his Devil's Fruit and turned his arms into wings as he flew up to meet the light; he blocked the attack as everyone got a look at the wings made of blue fire.

"You can't just go straight for the King, you know?" Marco said as the blue flames traveled across his body.

"You Whitebeard Pirates sure are scary, you know?" Kizaru said mockingly as he smirked at Marco.

Everyone watched in wonder as the flames healed Marco's wounds leaving him like normal, showing Marco with a glare that could kill and a smirk that would freeze anyone. Marco transformed into a phoenix as he flew towards Kizaru, not faltering as Kizaru shot more light bullets at him; they passed through his body as if it was air, Marco took the chance to transform back with only his arms as wings as he kicked his leg down onto Kizaru who blocked it with his arm but couldn't stop being sent flying as he turned into a beam of light and landed into a wall.

The giants ran forward ready to attack when Jozu picked up a giant block of ice bigger than HQ and threw it at the last remaining admiral sitting down. Akainu stood up as his arm transformed into magma and stood staring at the block of ice coming for him; he threw his fist forward creating a giant magma fist to fly at the ice, crashing through it and turning it into steam. Magma shot out of the sky as it began to rain down on the pirates, making them run towards the HQ for safety. Whitebeard stabbed a magma rock with his bisento and blew it out as if it was a candle making Akainu glare at him with fury. Everyone, including Whitebeard, began to attack as they aimed for their ships hoping to trap them here if anything else.

Loud stomps were heard across the battlefield as the ground trembled; Whitebeard pirates smiled as they saw Oar's Jr walk up and slash down on a warship that was in his way. "Ace-kun," Oars roared as the Pirates cheered for their nakama.

"Oars!" Ace yelled worriedly.

"Ace-kun, is a nice guy! I ain't lettin' ya kill him!" Oars yelled at them angrily.

The giants run towards Oars Jr as the warships firing repeatedly at him. Oars grabs the warship firing at him as he lifted it above his head sending the marines on there sliding off and onto the ice; Oars Jr. threw the ship at the Giants coming at him, crashing it into them and making it push them past the ice, into other marines, and crashing into a wall. Oars opened up a path into the bay for the Whitebeard Pirates who couldn't get in before because of the ice; they rushed in joining their comrades in battle as the marines fell back to protect the shorelines. Oars slashed another giant as it came for him and continued walking towards the platform to save Ace.

"There's a difference between being a hero and throwing your life away!" Whitebeard yelled at Oars.

"Old man! Please don't stop me!" Oars Jr. begged Whitebeard. "I wanna save 'im! I wanna save Ace-kun as fast as possible!"

"I hear ya," Whitebeard said. "Men! Wipe your asses! Give Oars some support!"

Another giant rushed Oars Jr. as she swung a spear down at his head; Oars grabbed it and punched her away sending her flying away from him. Oars Jr. continued to walk to Ace as Boa Hancock attacked pirates and Marines; Kuma began to make a giant paw with his force as he held it above him.

"I'll save ya now," Oars said close to Ace.

"Oars," Ace said watching Oars through the paw Kuma was making as it grew to the size of Oars himself.

Kuma began to condense it as Oars grew closer until it was a small paw in Kuma's hand. He sent it to Oars as it went into his body and exploded with a force that shook all the oceans; Ace watched in horror as he watched Oars bend in pain from the attack Kuma sent to him.

"OARS!" Ace yelled to his friend as blood dripped down Oars face like a waterfall. Oars reacted to his name as he gained enough consciousness to look at Ace. "That's enough! Stop this! You won't make it this far!"

Oars fell to his knees as his hat slid across the ice and stopped at a frozen ripple; there was a crater around Oars were the attack had hit him and created a great force that cut into the ice around him. Oars looked at the hat that fell away from him and remembered the day Ace made it for him so he had shade; he began to get up from the ground shakily as he walked towards Ace once again, forgetting the pain so he could save his friend. The marines fired at Oars as he had no chance to block hitting him and causing his wounds to widen; Oars reached out his hand towards Ace hoping to reach his friend.

"Still…not there." Oars said as his vision became blurry. He changed his course to punching one of the warlords, DoFlamingo, but missing as the warlard jumped and flipped over him before he cut Oars' leg off causing him to fall to his knees again. Oars braced a hand on the inside of the plaza as he once again began reaching for Ace. "Just a little more…" His vision was barely there anymore as he tried to focus on Ace staring at him with horror etched across his face.

Mori stabbed Oars through the chest with his shadows as he became angry with DoFlamigo for cutting Oars Jr. "OARS!" Ace yelled again as Oars desperately reached for Ace with every last bit of strength he had. Ace clenched his fists and teeth as he watched helplessly as Oars tried to reach forward to get him, knowing he wouldn't make it. "Oars!" Ace yelled clenching his teeth to keep from crying. Oars almost reached Ace as his finger was inches was from him when he began to fall and crash into the ground of the HQ plaza. Ace let the tears come down as the pooled down his face; his jaw unhinged as he watched his friend fall dead to the floor. He drew back in disbelief as the tears kept flowing.

A giant took the opportunity to swing his axe at Whitebeard as the Captain watched Oars fall; Whitebeard grinded his teeth as he punched the air beside him as the axe came close. The axe shattered into pieces as the giant fell; Whitebeard took the chance to grab his head and smash it onto the ship as he used his Devil's fruit against the man's head to shatter his helmet while injuring his head and threw him away as if he was a simple ragdoll. "Charge across Oars!" Whitebeard commanded as he gripped his bisento tightly in an apology to Oars.

The Whitebeard Pirates did as they were told as they used Oars as a bridge to get into the plaza to the other marines who were waiting to fight. An ally of Whitebeards crashed through the ice with her ship as she created another opening on the other side of the bay for more pirates to get into.

Ace watched in horror as pirates followed in and joined the battle to save Ace. Garp climbed up the stairs to the platform as he sat down next to Ace and crossed his arms.  
"Do you mind?" Garp asked Ace as he sat down. "I'm gonna sit here."

They sat there as Garp and Ace remembered a memory of the past when they had an argument about being a pirate or a marine and laughed about it later.

"I have no sympathy for a criminal…" Garp said gruffly. "…but for my family, I do." Garp's voice cracked as he said this trying to hold his pain back as he talked to Ace. "What…should I do?" Garp said as his shoulders trembled and Ace looked over to him. "Damn you Ace! Why couldn't you just live as I told you?!" Garp yelled at him as his tears spilled over his eyes.

Ace watched for the first times as his grandfathered cried and had to bite his lip from crying along with him.

"There's too many ships ahead!" Crystal yelled at Jinbei. "Seeing a warship from the Navy, they'd most likely attack us!"

"Don't worry, I'll handle this!" Iva said as he gave a hells wink at the ocean and flew them into the air.

The boat flipped over into the air as they all began to fall straight for the plaza and ice. Everyone began to panic as they tried to figure out how to land safely without harm to everyone.

"Ace!" Luffy and Crystal yelled once they saw him.

Pirates and Marines watched as people and a warship fell from the sky; Boa watched with a blush, Sengoku with a glare, Garp with a face full of pure shock, and Ace watched in horror as his worst nightmares just came true.


	17. Fighting for Ace

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal.**

**R&R**

**Chapter 17! Read and Enjoy! I love to hear from all of you!**

* * *

"Everyone! Hang on!" Crystal yelled as she clapped her hands and spread her arms out, making a huge whirl of wind burst from the ground as it cushioned their fall inches from the ground as the ship crashed into the ice.

Crystal and Luffy landed on top of the warship as it stuck halfway out of the water. The look at each other and smile as they spot Ace, they take in a deep breath and let it out in a loud yell. "ACE!"

"LUFFY! CRYSTAL!" Ace yelled back to them.

Crocodile went to attack Whitebeard as Crystal stared in shock; she regained her composure as she took a deep breath and disappeared from the others making them look around for her in surprise.

"I TOLD YOU THAT YOU HAD TO GET THROUGH ME TO GET TO DADDY!" Crystal yelled as she appeared in front of Crocodile and kicked him in the face. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" She watched as Crocodile flew across the figure head as he stared up at her with a glare.

He rushed Crystal as this time Luffy zipped by in Second Gear and kicked his hook away from Crystal's face.

"I honored our agreement and helped you to get here." Crocodile told Luffy grudgingly. "Why are you defending Whitebeard?"

"So this old guy really is Whitebeard?" Luffy asked still holding his fists up to Crocodile. "Then don't touch him! Ace likes this guy! And he's Crystal's father!"

"You're pretty good, Ace's brother." Marco said back to Luffy. "Good to have you back Crystal."

Whitebeard looked back at Crystal as he grabbed her and brought her up into his arms protectively. "Kid, that Straw Hat of yours." Whitebeard said noticing it on Luffy's back. "It looks like the one Red Hair used to wear."

"You know Shanks, old man?" Luffy asked directing his attention to Whitebeard. "I'm holding it for Shanks."

"Have you come to save your brother?" He waited to till Luffy agreed as he glared down at Luffy hard. "Don't you understand what you're up against?!" Whitebeard slammed his bisento down making smoke rise up. "Someone like you doesn't stand a chance here!"

"Shut up! That's not for you to decide!" Luffy yelled throwing his fists around in anger. "I know perfectly well! You wanna be the Pirate King, don't you?! I'm the one who'll be the Pirate King!"

Crystal began to laugh at Luffy's remark and then laughed more as she looked down at the men around her with their arms up in the air and their faces pale from seeing Luffy talk like that to Whitebeard. Whitebeard stared at Luffy hard with a glare as he begun to spin his bisento in the air rapidly causing the wind to stir before he smashed it down once again causing a tremor to crawl along the floor.

Whitebeard looked at Crystal as she smirked to him and turned his frown into a smirk towards Luffy. "You're pretty damn cheeky. I won't show mercy if you slow me down, you spoiled brat!"

"I'm doing what I want to do!" Luffy said arguing against Whitebeard. He slammed his foot down as he bent his body in a position similar to that of a charge up for Second Gear. "I'm gonna save Ace myself!"

"I can execute every one of them right, Sengoku-san?" Kizaru asked with his creepy smile.

"Of course," Sengoku answered.

Ace began to panic about Luffy, Crystal, Whitebeard, and the pirates as he watched the battle continue.

"Ace! I'm here to save you! We're all here to save you!" Luffy yelled to him.

"No way in hell are we leaving without you, Ace!" Crystal yelled hoping down from Whitebeard's grasp.

"Garp! It's your damn family again!" Sengoku yelled at the Vice-Admiral.

Luffy and Whitebeard had a quick chat with apologies before Luffy looked at Crystal and they nodded to each other. They jumped off of Whitebeard's ship and took off running to Ace as a group of marines charges toward them. Crystal slashed her hand through the air making half fly away and Luffy used his arm Bazooka to make the others crash from them. Crystal watched as Luffy ran ahead and started to wail on any marine that got in his way.

Luffy kept running as Kizaru appeared in front of him and raised his leg ready to kick out with a light beam at any moment. He smiled at Luffy as he pushed his attack and kicked the light beam towards him; people watched in horror as Luffy kept running towards him.

"Luffy!" Crystal yelled as she ran to him and tackled him out of the way and pushed them with her wind as the attack made a large explosion where they were standing swallowing countless people in its wake.

Kuma attack Iva as he spun away from the attacks, his hair took a direct hit as he yelled at Luffy and Crystal not to worry about him and keep going. They did as he said before two Marines began to attack once again and seemed to recognize Luffy.  
"You make the worst friends you know that?" Crystal told Luffy as they slide to a stop before them.  
"They're not my friends!" Luffy yelled at her angry that she would say a thing. "By the way," He said turning back to the men. "Who are you?"

Crystal fell over as the men stared at him in surprise; the hypnotist tried to make Luffy fall asleep, but instead made him and his partner fall asleep and fall to the floor. A vice admiral walked up as she stretched her arms out and made bars circle them; Luffy changed into Second Gear as he and Crystal zipped out of their quickly before she closed her arms and her bars on them in the trap. They landed behind her as they took off running once again to Ace, not letting anything stop them as they kept their eyes on him.

A man smashed a club down on Luffy's head as Luffy jumped up and tried to punch him; the man brought his club up ricocheting his arm towards Crystal. She jumped onto Luffy's arm and climbed it before jumping into the air and landing on a man's face, then kicking him to the ground. Luffy grunt as he swung his leg into the man's head just as he swung his club again; another man came at Luffy as he swung his sword making Luffy flip and land on his hands before he twisted and kicked the man knocking him away.

Crystal and Luffy took off running again as they kicked and punched any marine that came near them as they did so.

"Moria!" Luffy yelled as he looked at the Warlord in front of them. Moria sent zombies after him as one charged at Luffy making him jump as the other punched him to the ground. One of them shot at Luffy as he looked at them with a glare. "Have them back!" Luffy said as the bullets hit the three zombies; they got back up as more zombies appeared and charged towards Luffy and Crystal.

Marines charged them as they surrounded and began to attack Crystal and Luffy. Luffy began to punch them as Crystal blew them away with her wind. "Luffy look out!" Crystal said as she grabbed a sword and blocked the man swinging at Luffy.

Ace watched as Crystal and Luffy struggled against the marines, kicking, punching and dodging them. Luffy got sliced on his arm as Crystal got a slice on her neck. He began to panic as he saw the two of them being hurt because they came to save him.

"Keep away, Luffy! Crystal!" Ace yelled at them over the crowd.

Crystal and Luffy froze at hearing Ace tell them that; Crystal punched a guy as he came, but immediately directed her attention to Ace once again with hurt eyes staring up at him.

"You oughta know already!" Ace said yelling to them. "All of us are pirates! You should be out sailing however you want! Me, I have my own adventures! Me, I have my own friends!" Crystal began to run to Ace with anger as she listened to him argue against what they are doing. "You have no right to interfere with that! Weaklings like you coming to rescue me…" Ace said as he watched Luffy catch up with Crystal as she ran. "Do you think I'm gonna let that happen? That would be too humiliating!" Ace watched as a group of marines descended on Crystal and Luffy as they ran with swords raised. "Go back, Luffy! Crystal! Why did you come?"

"BECAUSE WE'RE FAMILY!" Crystal yelled at him. Ace looked up surprised as she yelled this remembering the day the three brothers had told Crystal that even if she wasn't their sister, she was their family. That she would just have to marry them one day to be siblings with two of them. "I'M NOT LETTING MY FAMILY BE KILLED!" She yelled as she blocked an attack from a marine.

"Those stupid pirate 'rules'," Luffy said running alongside Crystal after they knocked the marines away. "I've never heard of them!"

"Don't you get it?!" Ace yelled watching Luffy and Crystal smash their hands into the marines' faces to jump over them.

Moria commanded the zombies to attack Luffy and Crystal, but were stopped as sea water rose up and soaked the zombies, making the shadows fly out and drop the bodies on the floor. Jinbei jumped out of the water and next to Luffy and Crystal as they stopped running.

"Luffy-kun, Crystal-chan, leave the zombies to me." Jinbei told them.

"We're counting on you." Crystal told him.

A giant swung his bat down making them jump away and watch as he slid it across the ice trying to hit Luffy and Crystal. Sengoku went on about how Luffy was a threat to their future because he was a sworn brother to Ace and was raised with them. He then went on about how Crystal was raised with them and had become corrupted in her ways. Luffy jumped into the air as he enlarged his fist and sent it spinning towards the giant punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground.

"Say whatever the hell you want!" Crystal yelled as she ran up the giant's body as it was falling and jumped into the air.

"We're saving you no matter what!" Luffy finished for her as they met up once again.

Ace couldn't believe it, no matter what he said, they were all still going after to him to help save him from the marines.

A group of ally's surrounded Crystal and Luffy before the marines closed in and made a bigger ring around them trapping them inside. Crystal and Luffy ran over the giants body as they went separate ways and began fight the marines who came after them. Ace watched with horror as he watched his family fight and die to get him out of here. He bent over and put his head on the platform as his heart ached seeing Luffy and Crystal fight for him and get hurt by doing so.

"What is it?" Garp said as Ace suddenly regained his composure and sat up straight.

"I'm ready to accept whatever the future gives me." Ace told him "I'll take the outstretched hand that saves me or bow to the blade that punishes me."

Crystal dodged as marines began to fire at her; she jumped into the air and flipped as she landed on her hands and spun around as her legs kicked out at every marine around her.

"I'm done fighting." Ace said looking dead ahead.

Crystal got back with Luffy as Iva and Jinbei jumped in. "All at once!" Crystal commanded.

Crystal spread her arms and clapped her hands together as Luffy sent a Bazooka hit, Iva sent a death wink, and Jinbei used the force he used at Impel Down pushing his hand forward. The attacks combined cleared a path through the marines as they were sent flying through the air. Moria walked up as he blocked the way but was quickly taken in a battle as Jinbei jumped from the group. Luffy kicked one marine after the other as Crystal smirked at him; her smirk disappeared as fear took its place.  
"Luffy!" Crystal yelled, but it was too late as Smoker rammed his weapon into Luffy's cheek sending him flying. Crystal watched helplessly as Luffy fought back with Second Gear, but ended up being slammed down by Smoker's weapon to his throat.

Crystal was about to run to Luffy as Boa kicked Smoker and sent him flying. She talked about how she was angry for smoker attack her love and dearest and Crystal couldn't help but feel scared of Boa as she looked at smoker with hate. The second Luffy saw her and called her name she turned to him with a smile and a blush trying to seem all cute with the sparkles. Crystal just became ten times more terrified of her and hoped she was never like that in the future.

Crystal watched closely as Boa bent down and handed a key to Luffy; her eyes widened as she realized it was to Ace's handcuffs. It shocked her even more as Luffy wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug before he let her go and ran to Crystal. They both began to run as he left Boa there having a heart attack from his hug and she began to fight the marines.

They stopped next to Iva as he began to talk about knowing Kuma, but DoFlamigo told him how Kuma wasn't human anymore, he was a machine now who worked for the world government. Kuma attack them with a beam of light as the jumped away from it crashing to the ground before it hit any of them. Iva took care of Kuma after he sent Iva's crew flying through the air, as he confused Kuma with clones of Iva. They took off running to the platform once again as they made sure Kuma was down for the count. Iva's crew took down every marine that tried to get Luffy or Crystal as one by one they were thinned out until it was just Luffy and Crystal.

"Now then, will the promised child of a new generation end here? Or not?" Mihawk said as he flung away Iva's men with a swipe of his sword.  
"Luffy go on ahead!" Crystal told him as she stopped in front of Mihawk. Crystal grabbed a sword from nearby that was long and thin, rolling it in her hand to get the feel of it.

"No you don't." Mihawk said going after Luffy. Crystal disappeared and reappeared in front of Luffy as she blocked Mihawk's sword effortlessly.

"I'm your opponent." Crystal told him with a glare as Luffy continued to run.

Mihawk stared at her with narrowed eyes as he looked her up and down. "In my experience, the more skin a woman shows, the weaker she is, and tries to use her looks to her advantage."

"Well then, I guess your experience is wrong." Crystal said pushing Mihawk away as he slid across the ice away from her.

He smirked as he charged for her and began swiping every which way. For every swipe Mihawk had, Crystal was there to block it, not even moving as he tried to push her back.

"I can't tell what is going on in their battle!" Iva's ally said with wide eyes.

Crystal decided to push back as she thrust quickly out to Mihawk and cut his shirt on his side before he jumped back away from her.

"You have the skills of someone who has been using swords for a lifetime." Mihawk said complimenting her.  
"Thanks, I had a good coach." Crystal said charging forward as she changed the play with her attacking.

Mihawk's eyes widened as her moves were faster than his and her sword cut him every now and again. He saw an opening as he swung out at her, but Crystal was waiting till he did as she jumped in the air and landed on his sword before slashing her sword down onto his shoulder.

"Mihawk got hit!"

Mihawk looked at his shoulder momentarily as he charged back at her for another attack. She pressed her feet into the ground as she watched his every move like a cat watching its prey, until she saw the moment and rushed forward sliding her sword across the ice and then up into the air. Mihawk's sword was caught on hers as she sent it flying into the air; she took the moment to sweep her leg under his as he fell to the floor. She stood on his hands as she caught his own sword and pointed it at his throat.

"This battle is over." She said as her eyes flashed red.

"Ah, I see where you got your lessons from then," Mihawk said noticing her eyes.

She back up as she smashed her sword into the ice sticking it there and tossing Mihawk's sword into the wall of ice far from him as she took off running the same way Luffy did.

"Not everyone can help who their family is," she told Mihawk as she passed by.

"No way! She defeated Mihawk!" Sengoku said shocked beyond belief by the battle he just witnessed. "Who is that girl?!" Sengoku grumbled wanting an answer.

Mihawk reached his arm out as his sword flew to him and he slashed it aiming for Crystal as Ace watched with wide eyes. Crystal turned her head and glared as Vista jumped in on time and blocked it.

"Go!" Vista commanded her as he charged Mihawk.

"Thanks!" She yelled still running.

Crystal turned and looked as an explosion was heard behind her. She stared as a dozen Kuma's walked up and faced everyone on the battlefield. Crystal watched in horror as dozens of pirates were taken out by the Pacifista's; she ripped her attention away and began to run towards Luffy as she finally caught sight of him. She rushed forward as marines began to crowd on him and waved her hand in the air to blow some of them away making him look at her and smirk in appreciation.

"Well now, I can't have you taking down my men that easily." Kizaru said smiling. He lifted his leg quickly and kicked out as he smashed it on Crystal's head making her scream out as she flew back.

"Crystal!" Luffy yelled causing the attention of some of the pirates to look.

"Crystal-chan!" Jinbei yelled in worry.

Ace looked down in horror as he watched Crystal ram into an ice block that had been thrown sometime in the battle and froze as he watched Kizaru walk towards Crystal again.

"Don't touch her!" Luffy yelled as he ran at Kizaru, but had the same thing happen to him. Thankfully Jinbei was close enough and caught Luffy as he was sent flying.

"I just want to know who she is." Kizaru said innocently as Crystal looked up with black spots in her vision.

"Hey Crystal! Has your stubbornness run out already?" A man's voice called behind her as a marine was shot.

Crystal, Luffy and Jinbei looked quickly behind them as some of the Commanders were standing there ready to help them.

"You can't let one admiral stop you! Come with us!" He yelled to them.

"Alright! That bastard!" Luffy yelled as he helped Crystal up and they ran with the Commanders.

Crystal stumbled as an explosion rumbled the ground behind her, but caught herself as she looked back. Her eyes widened as she saw Squard plunge a sword through Whitebeard's chest; she couldn't breath as she watched this until finally a scream made its way up her throat.

"DADDY!" She scream making the others look make and watch the horror before them.

Kizaru appeared behind her, ready to attack her as she was distracted; Crystal's eyes turned red as she disappeared making Kizaru look around in surprise and finally spot her as she reappeared next to Whitebeard. Crystal punched Squard in the face as he took his sword out of Whitebeard making him crash into the figurehead and crack the wood. She grabbed his head again as she smashed it back down into the figurehead, murderous attempt plain on her face.

"Why would you do such a thing!" Crystal yelled at him as Marco flew up and stood beside her wanting to do the same thing.

"S-shut up! You're the ones who forced my hand!" Squard said grunting.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea of what you've just done!" Crystal yelled. She stopped as she heard rustling behind her and watched as Whitebeard took a knee.

"Oyaji, if you keep pushing your body like this…" Marco said before Whitebeard held up a hand to stop him.

"Drop the charade already Whitebeard!" Squard yelled getting up as Crystal ran to him. "You made a deal with the Navy, didn't you? A deal to ensure that Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates would get out of this alive! Listen up everyone!" Squard yelled as pirates began to listen to what he was saying. "He's lured all of us into a trap! I had no idea that Ace was the son of Gold Roger! I was all alone when you found me, it was because my comrades, who I'd fought beside for so long were all killed by Roger! I'm sure you know my hatred for Roger! You could have told me that Ace is Roger's son! Told me your plans to make Ace the next Pirate King!"

Squard kept going on and on about how Whitebeard was using them, how only the his crew and Ace were going to left alive.

"Shut up," Crystal whispered as her fury rose. "Shut up." She said louder and more commanding.

Squard ignored her as he kept on going about how bad Whitebeard is, pirates begged for Whitebeard to say something as Squard kept going on and on; the Pacifista's started attacking everyone as Crystal's anger finally flew off the hinges.

"I SAID…" Crystal began as her necklace shined and her eyes turned blood red. "SHUT UP!" A force blew out of Crystal sending it across all of Marineford, knocking some marine's out and destabilizing the pacifista's as they began to short circuit.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as the force passed by them, and looked up at Crystal who was staring at Squard with blood red eyes and a murderous look upon her face that no one has seen before.

"It's true that Ace is Roger's son…" Whitebeard said holding his wound. "So they found the man who'd be the most hurt by that, and turned him against us. Their plan was one step ahead of my own. You foolish son!" Whitebeard yelled as he reached out to Squard and pulled him into a hug. "Though you're a fool, I still love you, my son."

Squard backed away with tears in his eyes as he looked at Crystal. "But those eyes, I know I've seen them before! Are you hiding her identity too!?"

Crystal looked at Whitebeard and clenched her fists. "Daddy it's time."

"I'm painfully aware of how you hate Roger. But it's wrong to resent a child for the sins of his father. What did Ace ever do to you? Together, you and Ace, have been through pain, joy, and difficulty, rising above it with your friends beside you. It doesn't matter who Ace's parents were. We got to meet on this big wide ocean. Not only you two, all of you are my sons. Don't think Ace is a special case." Whitebeard told him. "You are all my family."

Squard began to cry even more as Whitebeard smashed his fists into the air again, making the ice waves crash to the floor. Crystal walked over to Whitebeard as she placed her hand over the wound letting her hand glow blue. Marines and pirates both stared in shock as Whitebeard's wound began to disappear before their eyes until it was no longer there.

Whitebeard looks at all of them as Crystal turned her eyes to the crowd with him. "The same goes for Crystal! Just because I adopted her and took her into my name does not mean she is any more special!" He made sure everyone heard him as he looked out making them wonder what he was talking about. "Those willing to come with me, follow me even if it costs you your life!"

Cheers were heard from the pirates along with apologies; Crystal glanced at Luffy watching her with worry as she looked up at Garp and then to Ace keeping her eyes on him. She mouth an apology to them as she looked at Sengoku.

"SENGOKU!" She yelled catching everyone's attention. "I warned you marines that if you didn't let Ace go, there will be blood across the battlefield!" He looked at her as his glare hardened. "You said the marines wanted to know who I am right? Well, have you figured it out yet?"

She watched as marines looked at her confused, while some widened their eyes at seeing hers. "I'm sure you can see my eyes! And you know there is only one family out there who has these eyes!" She watched as the admirals froze in horror as Sengoku's eyes widened finally figuring out who she was. "My name is now Newgate Hikari Crystal! But if you want to go by my blood families name…" Crystal began to say clenching her fists. "My name is Crystal! HIJIRI HIKARI CRYSTAL! ONLY HEIR TO THE INFAMOUS WORLD-RENOWNED HIJIRI FAMILY!" She yelled as Ryuuji finally came out of her necklace, transforming into his full size that was bigger than whitebeards boat, as he stood next to the ship and roared out. "YOU WANT ME AS AN ENEMY? WELL NOW YOU HAVE THE WORST ENEMY YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE!"

Whitebeard jumped off the ship with a smile towards Crystal as he landed on the ice with a thump.

"Ryuuji!" Crystal yelled jumped off the ship after Whitebeard. She watched as pirates and marines looked at her with pure horror in their eyes as the dragon turned into a silhouette and wrapped around her as its eyes flashed at every marine around them.

The marines fired at Whitebeard as two cannonballs came directly towards him; Crystal stepped in front of him as she held her hand up and stopped the cannonballs before they got to them. She flicked her finger as the cannonballs dart back towards the artillery that shot them, blowing it up and sending the marines around it flying.

"You will not touch my father." She growled out looking at every marine, daring them to try.

A giant came crashing by as everyone ran towards the retreating marines. Crystal didn't like what was going on, something was going to happen. The giant slammed it's sword down towards Crystal and Whitebeard as Whitebeard pushed her forward and blocked the sword easily.

"Go! Save Ace!" Whitebeard commanded her. She clenched her teeth not wanting to leave him, but resigned to nodding her head and taking off with the others.

Some of the pirates looked at her with fear, but as they looked at her eyes full of worry and fear themselves, they knew it was still the same Crystal.

"Crystal! Over here!" Luffy yelled, making Crystal disappear and reappear next to him.

Whitebeard flung the giants sword away as he grab the air before him and slung it down, making the ground tilt and everybody fall to the ground. Crystal crashed to the ground as her foot slid; Ace couldn't grab anything to steady himself as he fell on his chin as his body tried to slid. Crystal watched as sections of ocean rose into the sky, the ice cracked and Crystal turned as she watched Luffy fall in between the crack. He stretched his arm out trying to reach for something, but couldn't stretch far enough as Crystal ran and grabbed his hand. Crystal slid with him from his weight before Jinbei grabbed her ankles and pulled them both up. They watched as Whitebeard sent a force crashing along the ice, into the walls of the plaza and started to head for the platform, before it was stopped by the three admirals.

"Crystal! Hang on!" Luffy commanded her as she ran over and grabbed onto him. Luffy stretched his arms out and grabbed the concrete walls of the HQ before sending them flying through the air. "We're coming! ACE!"

Wall raised up higher than the ones before them as Luffy's grip was cut off and they were sent to the ground. Crystal looked up and glared as cannons spread all along the walls were aiming right for them. Akainu began to bubble magma from his body as he lifted his arms and shot spurts into the air. Everyone watched with shock as they looked into the sky wondering what was going to happen; the lava spurts began to fall in the shapes of fists as they pushed passed the clouds and came towards the pirates. Crystal watched with narrowed eyes as everyone began to panic; she raised her hands quickly as the lava spurts came close enough. People ran and tripped trying to get away from where they would hit, but stopped as they watched the lava hit an invisible shield.

"Crystal!" Luffy yelled watching her strain against the hits above her, as they pushed her down into the ice creating a small crater around her.

Crystal looked up at him and smirked. "I can handle this! Go!" She yelled at the people around her. Luffy opened his mouth to argue as she looked at him with worry. "GO!"  
Everyone obeyed her command as they ran past her and towards Oars, as the walls where he was couldn't go up from his weight and blood. Crystal looked quickly towards the others with a smirk as she tensed as another onslaught attack the shield; she heard the cannons move as she quickly moved a hand towards the others.

"Oi! What are you doing?! You can't attack your own men!" A man yelled watching her with fear.

Marco came by quickly and punched him on his head as the cannons fired and crashed into the shield Crystal just activated around the people running to Oars. Marco watched with wide eyes as he watched Crystal struggle against both attacks. He could see the pain on her face as she struggled to keep up both shields.

Crystal looked up suddenly as an idea occurred in her head. She quickly took down the shields as she balled her hands into fists and punched both towards the new walls that appeared. A force greater than Whitebeard's crashed passed the men and into the cannons on the walls as it broke off the tops of the wall with the pressure. The cannons on the walls exploded down a line on the walls as everyone stared in amazement and caught a quick glance at Crystal as she smirked and began to run after them. Akainu stopped firing as the smoke and rubble threatened to fall on them.

"That girl!" Sengoku growled as he watched her. "She's the real threat to the world! We should have known who she was! We took Portgas D. Ace to his execution as we left her at Impel Down!"

"We'll just have to give her an execution as she comes closer." Akainu grumbled.

"Oh, that would be fun." Kizaru added.

"It would be a nice change to fight a Hijiri." Aokiji said smirking.

Ace watched Crystal in horror after hearing them say this as she pushed passed everyone with her speed and caught up with Luffy. What was she doing? Why was she smacking everyone she passes by? He watches her as she zigzags passed every pirate making sure to touch everyone. She did the same thing when she touched Whitebeard and Marco, even Squard before she left; he hadn't noticed it before until now. She caught up to Luffy and touched his shoulder like she did the others as they nodded to each other and ran. The marines brought new cannons out as they began to fire again. Ace watched as some cannonballs hit near the men, but nothing hit the actual men; he watched closely and finally saw Crystal and put everyone in an individual shield. The pirates soon caught on and grinned as they ran as if invincible. A cannonball hit near Crystal while she was watching Luffy slid back.

"Crystal, look out!" Marco yelled to her. It was too late as everyone watched it hit right in front of her sending her flying back across the ice as blood flowed from her head and down her arms.

Ace and Garp stared with wide eyes as the pirates shields were taken down and were finally being hit; but what made them panic was that Crystal wasn't getting back up. Thatch ran out of nowhere as he blended in with his men and ran to Crystal, lifting her head up and gently shaking her.

"Oi! Wake up!" Thatch said shaking her. Her eyes began to open to the relief of others as a cannonball hit near Luffy this time and sent him flying into the water.

"Luffy!" Crystal said, ignoring her bodies pain as she ran and jumped into the water after him. She fought against the side effects of water that she had similar to Devil's Fruits as she kept awake and let her body sink towards his and helped push it down. She watched as Luffy woke up and almost swallowed water as his eyes turned to whites and he sank again. She reached out and grabbed Luffy concentration on the water around them. Water was never her strong point, it was the hardest to control and it always faltered in places; this time the water decided to listen to her as it swirled around them and shot them out of the water and into the air. Crystal landed as she let Luffy fall to the floor gasping for air.

She looked up as everyone cheered and smiled as she saw Oars get up and fight for Ace again. Crystal stared as the marines fired at Oars again making him collapse on his hands and knees; Crystal took no time to run to him as she used her wind to make her fly into the air. She watched in horror as Kizaru was about to shoot Oars in the head with his beam as Jinbei yelled and flung water into the air pushing Crystal farther as she stood on it and rode it as it twisted, turned and flipped, rising into the air and over Oars. Something grabbed her and pulled her into the water before it came crashing into the ground.

She stood and glared at the marines as she made the water disappear with a swipe of her hand and Luffy held a broken mast in his arms as he stared down the admirals with Crystal.

"Lu…Luffy! Crystal!" Ace yelled shocked to see them on this side of the wall.

"Oh my, you finally made it here." Aokiji said looking at them.

"Quite and entrance, son of Dragon, daughter of Rin and Akito." Akainu said glaring.

"These youngsters sure are scary," Kizaru said mockingly.

"Give Ace back!" Luffy yelled as he spun and threw the broken mast at the admirals.

Luffy jumped back as Aokiji froze the mast and sent it back to Luffy as he rapidly kicked the mast apart. They watched Luffy and forgot about Crystal as she ran forward and smashed her hand on Kizaru's face.

"Give him back!" Crystal yelled as she made her hand explode, sending Kizaru back.  
She rushed again as she kicked out at him, making him put his arm up and block; Crystal smirked as she watched her foot stop as if it was blocked, but was centimeters away from his arm as spider webs cracked away from her leg and blasted Kizaru away, knocking him into the wall, and making blood run down his head.

"You!" Sengoku said yelling at her.

She looked up at him with her eyes still red and glared. She pointed to him furious. "I WARNED YOU! AND NOW YOU HAVE TO PAY!"

Crystal jumped as she saw ice rush on the ground to trap her as Kizaru appeared behind her and Akainu in front of her. Akainu reached forward and grabbed her arm, burning it with magma making her scream, as Kizaru shot light bullets at her. She glared as she opened up her hand Akainu had and the other at Kizaru.

"Ryuuji!" The dragon flies around her once again as it sends both men away from her and crashing into the ground creating craters where they landed. Crystal took the chance to teleport behind Kizaru as he got up and kick him into the sky before jumping up after him. She flipped as she smashed her heel down into his gut sending his quickly into the ground where he didn't get up.

Luffy jumped passed the admirals as he darted for the platform. Aokiji jumped in front of him and kicked him to the ground crashing into a building.

"On my mark!" Sengoku said making Crystal look up quickly. "Do it!"

The guards slashed their swords down towards Ace's head as everything slowed down for Crystal. She began to shake as she took off running towards Ace everything moving in slow motion around her. She jumped up onto the platform and stood in front of Ace as she spread her arms out.

"Stop!" She yelled as everything came back into normal speed. Wind wiped out of her hands and slashed the guards, sending them flying back away from Ace as everyone stared at her in shock.

Ace looked up at her with shock as her eyes stared at Sengoku with pure hatred.

"Don't…touch…him…" She said breathing heavily. He saw her body shake in exhaustion, he knew she was reaching her limit.

DoFlamingo came at her, but was stopped as sand slashed out at him directing his attention. Crocodile stood on the ground staring up at Crystal and DoFlamingo; DoFlamingo jumped off quickly as he wiggled his fingers and cut Crocodile's head off and sent it flying. Crocodile regenerated with his sand as Do walked up to Crocodile.

"So you're ditching me to team up with Whitebeard?" Do asks angrily. "It's enough to make a guy jealous, ya know?"

Crocodile looked at him as his head finished regenerating. "I don't team up with anybody. I just decided to help the girl because I owe her."

Crystal tried to think of why Crocodile would owe her but came up with nothing as she looked at him. She managed a small smirk as he looked at her quickly before looking back at the warlord beside him. She knew he was helping her because he wanted to; but his pride wouldn't let him admit it.

"That's the same as brushing me off." Do told him.

"More or less," Crocodile sighed. "I can't let you guys kill that girl. I have a battle against her in the future."

Crystal looked down as Luffy wailed on the marines around him desperately trying to get to Ace with Crystal. A yell beside her made her turn as Garp charged at her with his fists; she put up a shield again as his fists crashed down on it. She narrowed her eyes at Garp as she watched the tears stay at the edges. She pushed on her shield as it pushed Garp across the platform; she kneeled down as she hung onto Ace glaring at Garp and Sengoku.

"You'll have to kill me first, before getting to him." Crystal said protectively.

Ace's eyes watched her with panic as he felt her arms wrap around his neck; he longed to feel her close to him again, but not like this, not when she could be killed with him.

"Gladly," Sengoku said grabbing his sword and slashing at her.

Ryuuji came out on his own this time as Crystal flinched against Ace; he whipped out at Sengoku and wrapped around him, flinging his sword away and shoving him from the two huddled on the floor. Ryuuji transformed into a tall, built man with black hair and red eyes as he stood before Crystal.

"You're pushing yourself Crystal." Ryuuji said looking at them.

"What the…" Garp grunted out watching as the dragon turned into a human.

Garp and Sengoku got back up as they charged at Ryuuji, Ryuuji sent Garp flying back as he cut Sengoku with wind. Sengoku kept racing forward and reached out, Ryuuji tensed expecting his hit when Sengoku's had went passed him and grabbed Crystal ripping her away from Ace. Sengoku grabbed his gun out and pointed it to her head making Ryuuji stop his next attack and watch Crystal with worry.

Crystal bit Sengoku on the hand making him let her go as she ran from him, she tried to run for Ace as Aokiji flung ice at her making her jump away and towards the edge of the platform. Marco kicked Aokiji as Crystal winced and looked at her Shoulder, one of the ice spears Aokiji threw lodged into her shoulder. She gripped it and yanked it out as she threw it towards Sengoku; he dodged the spear and aimed his gun at her as Ryuuji ran towards him. Sengoku shot his gun as Ryuuji tackled him; Crystal gasped as pain erupted in her chest making her look down as blood began to pool out on the left side of her breast.

"CRYSTAL!" Ace screamed out making everyone look up at the platform.

Everyone watched in horror as Crystal stumbled to regain her balance and black spots began to take over her vision as they spread. Her vision turned black as her body began to fall backwards off the platform. The last thing she heard before she fell was Ace calling out to her as Garp ran towards her to catch her, but didn't make it in time, all Crystal felt was the wind blowing passed her as gravity took over and hurdled her to the earth. She looked out as she fell in the air and saw a ship appear out of the water making her smile at think that they may have a chance now. She closed her eyes as the darkness tried to take her over and the wind greeted her as it flew by.


	18. Portgas D Ace Death

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**R&R**

**Chapter 18.**

**I love to hear from all of you! So leave a comment or message me!**

* * *

Crystal listened to the wind as it blew past her awaiting the ground that would meet her.

"Crystal! Don't you dare give up!" Whitebeard yelled to her.

Crystal snapped her eyes open as she looked at her father, he watched her with worry in his eyes as she watched Oars smash a boat through the open wall with her father and everyone else on it.

"Ryuuji!" Crystal yelled making him fly down to her.

He grabbed her and held her by her waist as he flipped them right side up and used the wind to cushion their fall as it let them down gently.

"Hold still," Ryuuji told her as he plunged his hand over the wound. Crystal screamed in pain as Ryuuji made the bullet slide out of her and drop to the ground.

Whitebeard jumped off the ship as he glared at Sengoku. "Men! Rescue Ace and destroy the Navy!" He looked at Sengoku hard as him and Whitebeard glared daggers at each other.

"ICE BALL!" Aokiji yells as he sends ice towards Whitebeard.

Crystal holds out her hand quickly puts fire around her father, melting the ice as it came and leaving him how he was. He looks at her and smiles as a thank you as Aokiji glares at her. Whitebeard impaled Aokiji with his bisento as the admiral freezes his body; Jozu thinks quickly and punches Aokiji with his diamond arm shattering his head, but watching it as it grew back. Whitebeard walked by as Jozu took care of the admiral, leaving Crystal to look for Luffy. She teleported to him as a vice-admiral came and slashed at him. She pushed him out of the way as she jumped the other way.

The vice-admiral attacked Luffy again as Luffy tried to go into Second Gear, but didn't have enough strength. Crystal gritted her teeth as she ran over, grabbed Luffy and teleported behind the vice-admiral as he swung down. Kizaru had gotten back up as he aimed a laser at them and shot, sending them flying forward and crashing into the ground.

Garp clenched his fists in anger as he saw Luffy and Crystal lie on the ground. Kizaru walked up and grabbed Crystal by the throat lifting her up. "This is for before, girl." He slammed Crystal into the ground as blood burst out of her mouth. Kizaru turned to Luffy and kicked him, sending him flying back into Whitebeard's hand. Kizaru watch with a smile as he picked Crystal up and tossed her up in the air, before kicking her towards them. Whitebeard's glare hardened as he grabbed his daughter before she hit the floor, saw the blood coming from her body, and saw the exhaustion overcoming her.

Crystal opened her eyes and watched as Luffy took off running again before he fell. "Luffy," She whispered slipping out of Whitebeard's grasp and dropping to the ground. She pushed herself up as she walked jaggedly towards Luffy. She looked at him and found him unconscious; she looked up to see Marco standing next to her.

"I'm going to need your help Marco." Crystal told him.

He smiled as he held his hand out to her. "I thought you'd never ask."

Thatch ran over to them as he slashed marines that were coming near them. "I'll make you a path to get closer."

Crystal nodded her head as she hugged Thatch before she went to Marco and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We'll get him back, together."

Marco jumped into the air as he transformed into a phoenix again and charged towards the platform. Thatch took down the marines trying to fire at Marco and Crystal making it easier for them to reach Ace. They were almost there as Garp jumped into the air and punched Marco away; Marco flung his body towards the platform before falling, sending Crystal flying towards Ace. Garp grabbed her leg as he spun her around and threw her towards the ground; Crystal crashed where the admiral's were sitting before as Garp landed before her and stared down at her unmoving body. He sat down in the admiral's chair as he crossed his arms and looked out at the battlefield before him.

"Stupid girl, why didn't you just give up?" Garp grumbled looking down at her.

Crystal grumbled as she looked at Garp; she swung her foot out and slammed it into his head unsuspectingly as his head snapped to the side. "Because I won't give up! Not until I know Ace is out of here and safe!" Crystal jumps up quickly as Garp lunges for her and jumps onto the ground. Garp reaches out and grabs her necklace pulling her close. "No! Stop, Garp! You know what will happen!" Crystal said hurriedly in a hush.

"Use it," Garp said in her ear. "Use it at the right time and get Ace and Luffy out of here."

Crystal's eyes widened in shock as he let her necklace go and punch her in the stomach sending her flying towards Luffy once again. Iva gasped as he stopped Crystal from sliding anymore and watch as she breathed heavily.

Ace slammed his forehead onto the platform again as he clenched his teeth tightly; he didn't want anyone to fight and die for him, yet here he has to watch as his little brother and Crystal are exhausted and getting hurt out there, fighting for him!

"Dammit," Ace said his voice cracking. "Dammit! What's wrong with me? This isn't the time to…The old man, my brother, my Crystal, my crew are falling and yet I'm so happy." Ace confessed as tears poured down his face.

Crystal sat up as her and Luffy asked for Iva to give them energy.

"My tears won't stop." Ace said shaking his head. "Even now that it's come to this…I want to live… I want to live with Crystal! With Oyaji, Luffy, and my crew!..."  
Garp struggled in pain as he listened to his grandson up on the platform. Crystal watched in horror as her father got hit in the chest by one of Akainu's magma punches sending an explosion around the field.

"Please! I don't want to see my family die again!" Crystal said pleadingly.

"Do whatever the hell you want!" Iva said as he injected her and Luffy with hormones.

The stood up as the hormones coursed through their veins; Ace looked up in surprise at watching them get up and look full of energy. Crystal and Luffy roared out as the hormones made them stronger and able to last longer. Luffy and Crystal ran for Ace as two new guards replaced the other and lifted their swords ready to strike; the marines surrounded Crystal and Luffy as the guards swung their swords down toward Ace's head.

"STOP IT!" Luffy yelled as haki flew out of his body and around the battlefield, knocking out marines and pirates alike, including the guards who were about to execute Ace.

They kept running as Crystal stared around her in shock at what Luffy had just done. Marines charged towards them as Whitebeard smashed the air, sending the marines flying back and out of their way.

"Daddy!" Crystal yelled running to him. She looked at him with fear as she saw all the blood dripping down him. She jumped up and hugged his neck and kissed his cheek sending her energy into him as his wounds began to heal slowly. "Try not to get hurt anymore. If you do that, your wounds will heal okay?"

Whitebeard laughed as he ruffled her hair and nudged her on towards Luffy and Iva once again. "Men! As of this moment lend Straw Hat Luffy and Tenshi No Crystal all of your strength!" Whitebeard commanded them making them look up in surprise.

Crystal and Luffy ran towards Ace as the Whitebeard Pirates slowly took every opponent that came near them. Mihawk spotted Crystal as he sent the green slash at her; she didn't stop running as she faced it head on. Mister One appeared out of nowhere and blocked it as he looked at her with a smile.  
"At least I know who you are now." One told her. "Orders from the boss are to protect you and Luffy. Now go!"

Crystal grabbed Luffy as they took off running once again; Mihawk quickly finished off One and dodged Iva as he charged towards them. This time Crocodile blocks his attack before he can reach them; he commented about them being in his way, but Crystal knew he was willing to help them. Iva caught up to them as they ran from the enemies behind them, hoping that they'd make it to Ace in time, and that the hormones lasted that long.

Crystal watched with wide eyes as Inazuma ran by cutting the stone floor in doing so; Luffy and Crystal ran as they watched the stone Inazuma cut out fly into the air and create a bridge. They ran up the bridge with smiles on their faces as they neared Ace close by.

"Here we come, Ace!" Luffy yelled up happily.

Crystal smiled as she ran ahead of Luffy to get to Ace; her body jerked as she slid to a stop and pushed Luffy back. "Watch out!" Luffy watched in panic as Garp shot through the bridge and punched Crystal of the edge. Crystal hung onto the edge with all her strength as her body's pain came 100% back to her. She watched as Garp stared at Luffy and started to walk towards his grandson. Crystal swung her body until her legs were coming back over the bridge and kicked Garp away from Luffy as he slid along the stones.

"Garp! Please move!" Crystal yelled at him as she ran with Luffy again.

"I am a Vice-Admiral from Navy HQ! I was fighting pirates long before you were born! If you want to get past me, it'll be over my dead body!" Garp said getting into position for a fight. "Straw Hat Luffy! Tenshi No Crystal! That is the path you chose!"

Luffy and Crystal kept running as Garp stared at them in shock.

"I've told you already! If you want to get past me, it'll be over my dead body!" Garp yelled again as they kept running towards him. "If you don't kill me, Ace will die!"

"Never!" Luffy yelled to him.

"It will happen no matter how much you hate it!" Garp said to Luffy as they were feet away from Garp. "I'm not holding back! Luffy! Crystal! I now regard you as my enemy!"  
Garp launched forward with his fist toward Crystal and Luffy as he began to remember them as kids, and the times they spent together in the past. He gave up as he let his fist miss it's mark while Crystal and Luffy lunge toward Garp and punch him over the side of the bridge and into the ground. Garp watched Luffy and Crystal run towards Ace with determination on their face as Ace watches with shock as his grandfather falls.

They jumped across the falling bridge trying to make it to the platform before the bridge completely collapses. Luffy and Crystal hit the edge of the platform in front of Ace just as the bridge collapsed leaving Sengoku stare at them in shock.

"Finally!" Luffy yelled.

"Finally!" Crystal yelled with him.

"We finally made it!" They both yelled as they looked up and smiled at Ace.

"Luffy…Crystal…" Ace stared in shock. "You two are one hell of a person." He said with a smile up at them.

Luffy quickly headed to Ace's chains as he took out the key as Crystal watched Sengoku. Kizaru fired laser beams at them as one broke the key and the other hit Crystal in her side making a small gash.

"Dammit!" Crystal cried as she held her side.

Sengoku transformed with his Devil Fruit into a giant golden Buddha, as he towered over the three on the platform. Mister Three woke up as one of the guards as Luffy and Crystal stared at him with surprise on their faces. Sengoku swung his fist down aiming for them as Crystal quickly put a barrier around them and Luffy blew up into a giant balloon to take the hit of the fist. Crystal ran up and helped push Luffy with her wind as Sengoku began to push him backwards. Mister three grabbed Crystal and threw her next to Ace as he created a candle wax wall around them. Luffy fell back on the wall as he let the air out and the platform broke beneath them.

They began to fall as Crystal reached out to the tiny Luffy now; she hung onto Ace as Three said he would make a key for the chains. Sengoku came after them once he saw the key replica in Three's hand and the marines fired cannonballs at them; Crystal watched in horror as they came at them. Luffy put the key in and turned it just as the cannonballs hit and a great explosion went off; Crystal heard chains hit the floor as she looked up and saw Whitebeard's tattoo mad in flames in front of her.

"You never change, Luffy, Crystal!" Ace said as he wrapped an arm around Crystal and reach out to Luffy with the other. "Never listening to a word I say."

Ace grabbed his vest as he flew them out of the tunnel of fire and into the battlefield. Luffy had grabbed Three's collar in time as they flew out and brought him along with them.

"ACE!" Luffy and Crystal yelled as the biggest smiles past across their face.

Crystal wrapped her arms around Ace as they flew across the sky and heard cheers below them as the pirates yelled in joy. Ace let Crystal go as he sent a huge pillar of flame down at the marines sending them flying backwards from the jolt. Ace landed first with the flames around him as Crystal and Luffy flanking him on either side ready to fight.

"Can you fight Luffy? Crystal?" Ace asked them.

"Of course!" Crystal yelled.

"Of course I can!" Luffy yelled also as he breathed heavily.

"I never even dreamed that the day would come when I would be saved by you two." Ace said looking at either side. "Thanks, Crystal, Luffy."

Marines surrounded them as they fired bullets; Luffy stretched with the bullets as they passed through Ace and around Crystal. Luffy sent them back to the marines knocking them down; two more marines came after him with swords as Ace pushed down on his head and the swords passed right through him. Luffy pushed him up in the air and Crystal and Ace used flamed fists to knock the marines in front of them away. Luffy dodged three marines and jet stamped them as they fell back; Ace shot his fire bullets at the marines as another came up behind him with a spiked club. Crystal ran at the man and kicked him in the side sending him flying away from them as she kicked out at three more marines rushing up.

They took down every marine around them as they began to run towards Whitebeard and his crew to get out of Marineford. Aokiji blocked their way as he sent a giant bird made of ice towards them; Ace stepped forward and sent a giant ball of flame to melt the bird as they got away and knocked down marine after marine. Everything was going smoothly now that they got Ace free and were heading towards Whitebeard; all too soon that changed as Sengoku jumped into the air and slammed down on Crystal, crashing her into the ground and pinning her under his foot.

Whitebeard watched as Sengoku trapped Crystal to the floor; he began to command the others to board the ship as he brought all his strength out. Whitebeard slammed his fist into the air sending Sengoku back slightly, but getting him off Crystal.

"Crystal! Go!" Whitebeard commanded her.  
"No! Not without you!" She said getting up.

"There isn't a place for me in the New Era! We will part here as you guys leave here safely." Whitebeard told her as everyone crowded around him. Crystal ran in front of him and glared sadly at him.

"No." She told him plainly. She grabbed her necklace and looked out at the marines staring at them. "Luffy, Ace, get daddy out of here." She told them as her body began to shake in fear.

"What? Crystal, what do you think you're doing? We're not leaving without you!" Luffy said looking at her incredulously. Iva and Jinbei stepped up next to Luffy as they stared at her confused.

"Luffy….Ace…" Crystal said stopping her shaking to keep control. "Do you remember the promise I made you guys make after Sabo?" She waited as she looked back at them and saw them nod. "Good, because I'm going to need you to keep it."

"Crystal! Don't do it!" Ace yelled racing to her quickly. He couldn't reach her in time as she yanked her necklace off and held it in her hands.

A power ripped out of Crystal as if it was ripping her body apart making her scream out; Ryuuji appear standing over her in his large dragon form as her screaming stopped. Steam came out of his mouth as his eyes turned deadly; chains the color of red appeared on her wrists as Ryuuji looked down at her.

"Girl, you realize what you are complying to by taking that necklace off, don't you?" Ryuuji asks her. "You are willingly giving me all your power and the free will to do what I want?" Crystal nodded to both questions as he smiled with his jagged teeth flashing at the marines. "Do not blame me if your body cannot handle it girl. That necklace was the only thing keeping me in."

"I know." Crystal said looking out at the marines. She picked up her arm and froze hoping she was doing the right thing.  
"Crystal, don't! It could kill you!" Whitebeard yelled to her.

She ignored him as she lifted her hand up, flicking it towards the marines. "Ryuuji…." Whitebeard along with Iva, Jinbei, Ace, Luffy, Thatch, and Marco yelled for her to stop, and begged for her to come back. She closed her eyes as she started to feed her energy to Ryuuji. "…attack!" She yelled as Ryuuji rushed forward and started to attack every marine around him.

Wind picked up around Crystal as the ribbon flew out of her hair; she grabbed it quickly as she took Ace's hat off. She walked carefully feeling her power drain from her as fire, wind, water, earth, magma, quakes, everything erupted behind her from Ryuuji attacking them. The Navy HQ began to fall apart as Ryuuji attacked; Crystal walked up to Ace and handed his hat to him as she tied her ribbon on her wrist.

Everyone watched as her hair flew around her as the wind swirled around her body soaking up her energy to give to Ryuuji.

"I made sure to keep it safe." Crystal told him with a smile. "Please, take daddy out of here."

Crystal quickly began to back away as she charged towards the marines to fight with Ryuuji. She threw fire at them as they fired, dodged with wind when they got too close and defended with water and earth as the admirals made an approach. Ace's face darkened as he watched the marines crowd around Crystal preparing to attack.

"Get out of the way, all of you!" Ace yelled hitting the marines with fire as they jumped at Crystal. Crystal looked back quickly and shook her head at him telling him he has to go.

"So you all think you can rescue Fire Fist Ace and just retreat in safety?" Akainu said angering the crew as they ran. "What a bunch of imbeciles you Whitebeard Pirates are! Well, I suppose it's no surprise, your captain being who he is. After all, Whitebeard is nothing but a loser from a dead era!"

Ace snapped his attention from running as anger flooded his brain; he stopped as Akainu watched him from behind with a smirk. "A loser?! Take back what you just said!" He said turning towards Akainu as his fists flamed in and out in rage. Crystal stopped as Whitebeard hit some marine's around her and sent them flying. She watched as the crew tried to make Ace keep running when he threw them off and flamed up in front of Akainu. "He bad mouthed the old man!"  
"No," Crystal whispered knowing what he was doing.

"Take it back, you say?" Akainu asked mockingly. "I have no intention in doing so. Why would I?" He smirked as he knew his plan was working against Ace. "You're father, Gold Roger, conquered the whole Grand Line. He gave his life to open the door to the new era, the Great Age of Pirates. A navy man like me probably should say this, but that man truly deserved the title of 'Pirate King'. What is Whitebeard when compared to that?"

Ace lost his temper as the flames flashed more often than before.

"I mean, did he even have the guts to fight against Roger?" Sakazuki said baiting him on. "All he's ever done is hide in some safe corner of the world and keep himself out of trouble, right? These days, some fools may claim Whitebeard's name alone upholds peace on various islands. But as far as I'm concerned, he just intimidates the small fries and believes himself a hero for it. Ridiculous! Roger maintained his honor as long as he lived, and even dead, his fellow pirates hailed him as King. In other words, Whitebeard is an eternal loser, who will never surpass Roger! That is all he is. Everything I have said is true."

Ace began to walk forward clenching his teeth and glaring as flames erupted around his body in anger. Akainu kept baiting him on as he bad mouthed Whitebeard making Ace angrier and the others clench their teeth in anger. Ace warned him to stop as he kept walking towards him; Ace began to yell back his arguments as his anger flared in his stomach until they were both bubbling over in anger ready for a fight.

"Shut up!" Crystal yelled hitting Akainu in the head with her fist.

Akainu grabbed Crystal quickly before she could jump away and held her in the air. "And this girls… She's a monster! Someone who nobody wants alive! Not even her own parents want her, yet Whitebeard was so stupid he took the monster in!" Ace clenched his teeth as he glared at Akainu. "You all act like your accepting her into the family! But I bet that now you know who she really is, what she's capable of, you all want her dead like everyone else in the world! This girl is just a piece of trash that her parents threw away and Whitebeard decided to help. How stupid is that!"

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SAVED MY LIFE!" Ace yelled at him lifting his fist in flames.

The ground cracked beneath them as Akainu threw Crystal away as him and Ace swung at each other with fists engulfed in flame and magma. The magma engulfed the flames as it sent as flying away with his hand burnt. Crystal and Luffy tried to run to Ace, but both of them finally reached their limit as they fell to their knees. Crystal watched as Akainu charged towards Luffy; Crystal teleported to him and pushed him behind her as she narrowed her eyes at Akainu. Crystal's heart stopped as the ground beneath her began to fall away as she looked up and saw Ace standing there facing them as his necklace broke and fell to the floor; she looked in horror as she processed Akainu's magma fist in the middle of Ace's stomach as fire edged around it. Her eyes widened in horror as Ace coughed up blood as he clenched his teeth in pain. Akainu pulls his arm out of Ace as he stumbles back a step; Ace coughed up a mouthful of blood as Luffy runs to him and catches him before he falls.

All of Crystal's senses died as she watched Ace with the hole in his stomach; the only sense that stayed was her sense of sight, the one she didn't want to have the most at the moment. Her eyes changed back to blue as her anger drained from her body and was replaced with a numbness that froze her body. Crystal watched as Akainu walked forward with half his body missing as he regenerated with the magma; she saw his mouth moving, but couldn't tell what he was saying. She watched him as he lifted his fist up once again, drenching it in magma, as he aims it at Ace.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Crystal screamed as she reach forward towards Ace. Ryuuji appeared in front of Ace catching Akainu's fist before it slammed down and hit its mark.

"I will not let you touch the boy!" Ryuuji yelled as his hands began to burn. He pushed Akainu's hand away as the Magma hit the floor. He went to go lunge toward Ryuuji as Marco and Vista came up and attacked, but it was useless as Akainu regenerated once again.

Ace fell to his knees as his body draped over Luffy and his arm around his shoulder. Luffy held his arm as his arm went around his chest and lay over the wound.

"Ace…" Luffy said unbelieving. "Hey, can you hear me? You'll be fine, right?" Luffy froze as he felt liquid trickle through his fingers. Crystal looked at his hand and gasped as blood covered it completely. "Ace…we have to hurry and treat your wounds."

Crystal watched slightly behind Luffy as Ace began to speak again.

"I'm sorry…Luffy…Crystal." Ace apologized. "Just for me…you did all that crazy stuff…but I still couldn't be saved. I'm so sorry."

Crystal's eyes watered as he apologized not wanting to think about what may happen to him.

"W-what are you saying?" Luffy asked stuttering. "Don't be ridiculous! Someone, help him! Ace…please save Ace! Hey? Isn't there anyone who can save Ace? Come on!"

Crystal watched helplessly as a doctor ran up and looked at Ace's wound; she didn't even need to see his face or hear his answer to know that Ace was too badly hurt to be helped.

"Hey…What's wrong?" Luffy asked confused as why he wasn't doing anything. "Hurry up and save him!"

"Forgive me…" The doctor told him as the shadows covered his eyes.

"What…do you mean?" Luffy asked trembling. Anger replaced his fear as his emotions began to become out of control. "What are you say?! Do something! Hey…hey! You're a doctor, aren't you? Aren't you?!"

"It's no use… He fried my insides…" Ace told him grunting in effort. "…I won't…last much longer…I can tell…my life is at an end…"

Crystal began to tremble as she tried not to hear those words, but hearing them come from Ace made them all the worse.

"Don't say that…" Luffy begged. "Oh! I know, Iva-chan! Hey, please! Use that…inject Ace with it! Okay? Save Ace! Okay? Please? I'm begging you! Ace…Ace…Give Ace some of it too! Give him a shot of it!"

"Straw Hat Boy!" Iva yelled at him making him stop. "Ace-boy is beyond saving…"

"That can't be…" Luffy said looking at Ace. "Didn't you promise us? You…said you'd never die…didn't you?!"

Tears spilled down Crystal's cheeks as she watched Luffy keep denying it.

"Ace…what are you saying?" Luffy asked confused and in shock. "What do you mean you won't last? You promised us! You said you'd never die…didn't you? Ace!"

Ace had looked up and stared at Crystal as she sat with her legs on either side of her, a hand on the ground and a hand to her mouth as tears streamed down her face. He never wanted to hurt her, he never wanted to see her cry; he thought of how he was just dreaming, how Crystal never cried. He remembered the last time Crystal cried, when Sabo died so long ago; she never cried since then. But he knew as he felt the numbing pain creep through his body, that this was no dream. He began to remember the days before Crystal and Luffy and how lonely he was with everyone bad mouthing Roger; he remembers asking if it was good that he was born.

"I probably wouldn't even have wanted to live…" Ace began thinking. "…if it weren't for that whole deal with Sabo…having an unruly brother like you…and having a girl like Crystal want to be around me. Oh right. If you ever…see Dandan, then give her my regards. For some reason, now that I know I'm gonna die…even her name sounds touching to me."

"I keep telling you…" Luffy yells hanging onto Ace tighter as he clenches his teeth. "Don't die!"

"I only have one regret." Ace told him. "That I couldn't see you and Crystal…fulfill your dreams. But…I'm sure…you two can make it. You're my little brother." He looked up at Crystal to talk to her. "And you're the most precious girl in my heart."

Crystal tears flowed out more as Ace finally told her his feelings, how Crystal regretted not telling him before about how she feels the same way. She wanted to tell him now, but her throat was closed so tight, she could hardly even breathe.  
"On that day…just like…we promised on that day…" Ace told them. "The way I lived my life…I have…no regrets about it." Ace said putting on a small smile as he looked down sadly.

"That's not true! Don't lie to me!" Luffy yelled.

Crystal looked at the blood dripping from his arm and off his fingers making her heart hurt as if someone was squeezing it inside her chest.

"I'm not lying." Ace admitted. "What I truly wanted…wasn't fame or anything like that after all. Was it….good that I was born? What I wanted…was just the answer to that question." He looked back up at Crystal as his eyes became unfocused and grew lighter.

Ace remembered all the days Whitebeard called him his son, when Crystal called him her family, when her and Luffy never gave up on saving him even at the risk of losing their lives, how they demanded the marines give Ace back to them, and how happy they looked when they finally reached him on the platform.

Everything froze around Crystal, Ace and Luffy as all sound was blocked out, except their own voices. She watched as Ace breathed heavily against Luffy as the darkness tried to take him down. Ace began to lean forward more as he only spoke loud enough for Luffy and Crystal to hear him.

"I…can't speak loud enough for the others to hear it." Ace told them. Luffy's eyes began to water as he knew the end was coming. "Please…pass on…what I'm about to say." Crystal heard the strain in his voice as tears rimmed his eyes. "Old man…everyone…Crystal…and you, Luffy…even though…I'm so worthless…Even though…I carry the blood of a demon…"

Whitebeard looked up hearing Ace talk about all this as a bead from Ace's necklace hit his shoe.

"Thank you…" Ace said his voice breaking as tears spilled down his cheeks and he whined and cried in joy. "…for loving me!"

Ace looked at Crystal as saw that she began to cry for him along with his brother. Ace remembered all the time's he wanted to cry and all she did was smile, and he felt better. Ace clenched his teeth as he put a smile on his face and looked at Crystal. His eyes grew dull as they slowly began to close; his arms slid from behind Luffy as he fell to the floor. Everyone turned in watched in horror as they saw Ace fall; Whitebeard began to cry as he picked up the bead that had hit his shoe.

Luffy began to scream out as tears poured down his cheeks and his eyes turned dark. Crystal felt her breathing stop and her world crumble around her as she looked at Ace lying on the floor. She numbly pushed off the ground as she raced over to Ace; she flipped him over as she cupped his face into hers.

"Ace…" She whispered looking at him. "Please…don't go…" Her tears began to drip on his face as she bent over him. "Don't joke around…come on…your stronger than that. Ace…please…don't leave me. You're the most important person to me….you can't leave….Ace…." She laid her forehead down on his as her tears fell on his cheeks. "I love you, Ace. I have since I met you." She looked at him as she finally gave up on trying to wake him up. "Please….I love you." She leaned down and placed her lips upon his as she gives him a parting kiss.

"Crystal…" Marco said as he, Thatch, and Jinbei walked up to her.

Crystal lets go of Ace as her eyes grow dull and the light burns out. She looks at Jinbei making them flinch at her lifeless eyes, as if she was now a walking doll. "Take Luffy somewhere safe Jinbei. Marco, Thatch, take Ace away from the battlefield." She looked away from them as she stood up shakily, stumbling as she tried to place her feet firmly.

Crystal looked at Akainu with her red eyes once again as she called Ryuuji back to her.

"What? Are you mad now that your love is dead? Pathetic!" Akainu said.

Crystal walked toward him with firm steps as she never broke their stare. Every marine including the three admirals, Garp and Sengoku could feel that something was different with her as the air crackled with thickness. Crystal disappeared as she was behind Akainu the next second; he turned quickly around to face her as she placed her hand on his chest. An explosion erupted from her hand as a giant hole gaped in his chest. Crystal disappeared again as Sakazuki tried to attack her; she appeared behind him again as she kicked him in the side of the head and made him crash into the platform that collapsed. Sengoku watched her as she walked with a steady gaze towards Akainu. He froze as he felt his body begin to tremble.  
"Why am I shaking? Because of the girl?" Sengoku asked.

"He's unleashed the devil." Garp said looking at Crystal with horror.

Akainu bubbled into lava as he charged toward her; she dodged every swing until finally she ducked and pushed her hand up under his chin sending an explosion of air. Crystal jumped into the air as she smashed her foot into his chest sending him crashing to the ground. She landed a few feet away from him as she once began walking toward him. Everyone was watching now, forgetting the fight or way they were running as they stared at the devil attacking Akainu.

"That's Crystal?!" Thatch asked in fear.

"This is why Whitebeard told us to never unleash the power within her. She becomes the most dangerous thing alive." Marco told Thatch.

Akainu slowly got up as his body was shot with pain; Crystal snapped her fingers as an explosion of fire erupted around him and swallowed him whole, once the fire died down she made the earth hit him repeatedly, flinging him from one way to the other. Crystal waved her hand smoothly as water came out of the ocean and surrounded Akainu until it hit just below his chin; she placed her hand on the orb of water holding Akainu in the air as ice spears shot out from the edges of the orb and into Akainu where he couldn't regenerate.

"How does it feel to have your body ripped apart. This is for me." Crystal asked coldly her voice dripping poison. She snapped her fingers as the orb constricted in on him sending the ice deeper and letting his arms out. "Now you can't use your powers to stop me. Let's see how you like to be burned. This is for hurting daddy and Ace." She made lava and fire appear on his arms as the skin slowly burned off and peeled off. "This is for killing Ace." Crystal dropped Sakazuki to the ground as she slammed her fist into his chest sending a quake throughout his body, tearing apart everything inside of him and sending him flying back and into a concrete wall. He fell to the ground as blood dripped out of his mouth and nose. No one moved as they watched the horrible scene.

Crystal turned to the pirates who were all huddled at the end of the plaza and watched as they flinched from her looking at them. Crystal's eyes turned back to the dull blue as Whitebeard walked up to her; they walked to the other's who looked at Crystal's face that still had tears running down it. They all knew, they would never understand how she felt from losing Ace; they knew he was the most important person to her, one of the first people to accept her; and the only person she let hang onto her.

"Crystal!" Garp yelled looking at her.

Crystal looked over everyone standing there and turned back to the battlefield finding her fallen comrades where they were. Crystal looked at Garp tears still running down her face as wind picked up around her; a blue light radiated underneath her as it began to spread out to all the other pirates as everyone of them, including the fallen, had a circle under them making the wind pick up around them and make them lighter.

"Crystal, what are you doing?" Marco asked her standing behind her with Thatch.

Garp's eyes widened, knowing what she was doing. "Crystal! Stop it! If you do that with how weak you are, you won't make it! You're not strong enough for that! If you do that, you'll die!"

Crystal looked up at him with dulls eyes and tears as she forced a smile on her face. "I know."

And like that all the pirates and their ships disappeared from Marineford as Crystal teleported them all away. Pirates looked around quickly as they find themselves in a village and see more of their nakama appearing one by one next to them. Iva, Jinbei, Crocodile, One, and Three appear as they look around for where they were. Luffy and Ace appeared next as Jinbei quickly went to them to help. Marco and Thatch were one of the last as they tried to figure out what happened. Finally Whitebeard appeared with his wounds mostly gone.

"My wounds are almost gone!" Someone shouted making everyone else look at themselves.

Everyone began to cheer as they find themselves doing okay and their wounds closing. Even the fallen were coming back to life as they slowly breathed and opened their eyes.

Marco and Thatch looked at Ace hopeful, but saw that he still wasn't moving as their hopes crashed around them.

"Halt! Who dares to break into our kingdom?!" A man with shaggy brown hair and green eyes yells at them as he holds a gun. Behind him many guards from the village aim their weapons at him as he looks all of them up and down.

"Tadao," Crystal whispers as she finally appears.

Tadao looks quickly dropping his weapon along with the rest of the guards at seeing her. "Princess!" He shouted surprised.

"Sorry, I didn't know where else…to go." Crystal said landing on her feet and instantly falling forward. Crystal fell to the floor as Tadao rushed up with a woman that had long black hair and blue eyes.

"Lily call the doctor to the palace!" Tadao yelled at her. She nodded before running off.

Tadao placed his hand on Crystal chest before placing his ear by her nose and mouth; his eyes widened as he checked her pulse from her neck. "Shit!"

"Dammit! We have to hurry!" Lily came rushing back to tell him as the doctor followed. "She's not breathing! And her heart is slowing down! We need to get her to the palace quickly!" He yelled to the doctor picking Crystal up and running off toward a huge building that was pure white.

Everyone stares in horror as the watch Crystal lay limp in the man's arm's not breathing and slowly dying. No one knew what to do but just stand there; all they knew was that Crystal had just risked her life to save all of theirs.


	19. Reuniting

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**R&R I love to hear from all of you!**

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Everyone sat in the large living room in the palace, worrying about Crystal, since they haven't seen her since they arrived here; another doctor named Boris who was tall and huge, with maroon hair and yellow cat eyes. He told them about how she was bandaged and healthy but she didn't want to see anyone. He bandaged every pirate there up; he explained to them how Crystal probably healed them at the same time that she teleported them here. It had been three days since they've arrived here and they still didn't know what to do.

Marco looked over his shoulder as he spotted Crystal walking into the room; he got up and walked over to her quickly as he looked her up and down.

"Crystal! Are you okay? We haven't seen you for three days! We didn't know if you were okay or if you were dead!" Marco told her panicked. The other's looked over at Crystal as they pile around her.

Crystal looks up at them making them flinch from her eyes; Crystal's eyes had no light in them, they had turned dull and made her look as if she was a walking down. Where a smile normally was on her face, was now an unemotional mask that showed nothing but sadness. Marco could see the tear marks on her face from her recently crying and couldn't believe that Crystal would cry. She was put into a short blue summer dress that cut into a v-neck and the strings tied around her neck. The dress did nothing to cover the bandages around her legs, arms, throat and shoulder.  
"Crystal! That's where you went!" Boris said walking into the room.

"Hey, Crystal it's okay." Jozu said looked at her. "What Ac…" He stopped as he saw Boris slid his hand across his throat, telling him not to do that.

Boris looked at Crystal in sadness as he watched the tears fall down her face.

"Sorry, I'm fine." Crystal said wiping her eyes. "I'm going to go lie down for a little bit."

They watched Crystal walk out into the forest by the palace and disappear into it.

"Damn, I just got her to stop crying." Boris said rubbing his head. "It's not your fault really. I've never seen that girl cry before, but she hasn't stopped crying since she got here. She won't eat, or drink anything. She just lies down and stays there as she cries, but she won't sleep. She hasn't smiled, and her eyes no longer have that light like they used to."

"Crystal was close to Ace, a lot closer than two people could be." Marco told him. "She loved him, and he loved her. They just didn't know about each other's feeling till the moment he died."

"How is Luffy-kun doing?" Jinbei asked him.

"Oh! That's right. Hey Luffy come here!" Boris commanded as he waved his arm in the hallway. Luffy walked in with sadness across his face also, but wasn't as numb as Crystal was as he flashed a smile to them momentarily.

The day passed them by as Crystal still hadn't come back and they managed to get Luffy to talk.

Boris walked in looking tired as he rubbed his neck. "I'm hungry, what's for dinner?"

The cooks began to yell at him as he raised his hands in surrender and walked to the others who were watching him. Most of the Whitebeard pirates were out in the village walking around and doing something leaving Whitebeard himself, Marco, Thatch, Jinbei, Luffy, and Iva sitting in the palace.

"Well I've got some good news and some great news!" Boris said giving a chuckle. He waited for an answer from the others but shrugged as none came. "The good news is that all of you are going to get out of your moping stage, including Crystal!" This made people look up at him in wonder as he smiled grabbing their attention. "The great news is you have a strong nakama. He heals really quickly for someone who was burned."

As if on cue a man with shaggy black hair, brown eyes and freckles walks through the door with bandages covering his stomach and chest, arms, legs, and a couple band aids on his face. Luffy stood up quickly as he stared at the man with wide eyes.

He tried to find words as he stared at the man, but found none as his throat clogged up and tears spilled down in happiness. "Ace!" he finally yelled out as he ran towards his brother wrapping him in a hug.

"Hey, Luffy." Ace said as he ruffled his brother's hair. "Seems you're just as much of a mummy as I am." He said looking over his brother also covered in bandages.

"Crystal won't cry anymore now!" Luffy said smiling up at his brother.

"Cry?" Ace asked looking around at the others.

"Yeah, Crystal has locked herself up in her room for three days, she came out today, but the second someone mentioned your name she began to cry again. She won't eat, sleep, or drink anything. All she does is lie around and cry." Marco said relaying what Boris told him. "Ace, since you died, it's as if Crystal is a walking doll. There is no light in her eyes anymore, they're just dull. She won't smile or laugh; she won't even talk."

Ace clenched his teeth as he gently made Luffy let him go and he walked to the door. "Where did she go?"

"In the woods, if you walk about a mile into it you'll find a clearing with cherry blossom tree's surrounding it. It's a place she used to always go to calm herself down." Boris told him.

Ace followed the instructions as he finally found the clearing and looked around it. He spotted Crystal lying in the middle as tears spilled down over nose and onto the ground.

"Crystal," Ace said stepping into the sun.

Crystal looked up with wide eyes as she looked him up and down; Ace expected her to run to him like Luffy did, but her eyes grew dull once again as she pulled her knees up and held her hands to her head.

"Stop it," She whispered to herself. "Stop showing me Ace. I know he's gone so stop tormenting me! Just go away!"

Crystal tried to block out the Ace before her, not wanting it to end like the others always did. Since Ace's death her brain kept trying to make her pain go away by showing visions of Ace; him holding his hand out to her, him calling her name, him alive and well, and now him bandaged up. But even though her brain was trying to trick her, she could never touch him and that broke her heart even more.

"I'm not leaving." Ace told her. He softened his voice hoping it would make her see that it was the real him. "I'm alive. I promised you didn't I? I promised that I wouldn't die and leave Luffy to take care of you."

Crystal snapped her head up as he said that knowing that a vision hasn't said that yet. She got up from the ground as she looked at Ace; she stared at him until he smiled at her apologetically. She ran to him quickly as he ran to her as she threw her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, not wanting to let him go for anything. She began to cry again, but this time in happiness as she pulled Ace close to her and felt his arms wrap around her waist to pull her even closer.

"I'm sorry I made you cry. I promise that I'll never let you go again." Ace told her soothingly.

"Ace…Ace…Ace…" Crystal called over and over into his neck. She hiccupped as he pulled her back away from his shoulder.

"Come on, where's that smile of yours that I like so much?" Ace said wiping her tears away. Crystal laughed as a smile spread across her face. Ace kissed her forehead as he laid his down onto hers. "Next time, let me do the saving."

"Ace…" Crystal said as he looked at her with a smiled.

"Hm?" He hummed at her.

"Don't ever leave me again." She said pulling him close again and burying her head into his shoulder.

"That I can do." He told her with a chuckle.

Ace carried her back to the palace and into the living room where everybody was waiting for them. They smiled as they saw Crystal hanging onto him so tightly.

"Come on Crystal! We want to hug Ace too! It's not like we're going to take him!" Marco joked.

"No, last time I let Ace go he disappeared. I'm not letting him go." Crystal said pushing her head into the nape of his neck.

Whitebeard grabbed the back of Crystal dress and brought her into his lap as they narrowed their eyes at each other. "I think you owe me a hug, since you didn't give me one when you woke up! Do you know how worried we were after you collapsed?"

Crystal smiled as she threw her arms around her father making him laugh and hug her back. Crystal watched Ace as he hugged everyone with smiles on their faces; Luffy hung onto his brother tightly as he began to cry again in happiness. Ace chuckled as he ruffled his brother's hair and walked over to Whitebeard as he looked up at his captain.

"Still want me, old man?" Ace asked him as Crystal slid off her father's lap backed away.

"You will always be my son." Whitebeard said grinning at him with a big smile.

Whitebeard opened his arms to Ace as said man ran into his father's arms; Ace backed away as he looked at his father with a smirk.

"You'll have more trouble now that I wasn't executed." Ace told his father.

"Yeah, and it's gonna be hell now that they know I'm the daughter of Rin and Akito Hijiri, the one they tried to kill." Crystal said giggling.

"I guess we'll all just have to fight the Navy together." Marco said with a smirk.

Thatch walked over and nudged Crystal with his shoulder making her smile while glaring at him.

"It's good to see you smiling again." Thatch said to her making her smile disappear and her eyes to soften.

"Sorry," She said looking at everyone. "I probably panicked you guys by doing that."

"We know, we know." Marco said smirking mischievously. "You're only love disappeared and you couldn't live."

Crystal blushed as she turned on Marco and glared. She went to go open her mouth to yell at him when Boris picked her up by the back of her dress.

"Boris! Stop!" Crystal yelled as she held the bottom of her dress down and holding up the top of her dress.

"Oh?" Boris asked evilly. "So now you're so self conscious of what people see?"

"No!" Crystal argued. "But…." Crystal mumbled the rest as her face reddened again.

"What?" Boris asked her confused.

"There are only bandages under there." Crystal whispered so only he could hear.

The others quirked an eyebrow as Boris blushed and smacked his forehead. He threw her over his shoulder as she pounded on his back and yelled for him to put her down.

"We have to check your bandages." Boris told her.

Ace walked over narrowing his eyes at Boris and took Crystal from his arms as he lifted her onto his arm making her brace her hand against his shoulder as she sat on his bicep and his arm curled around her leg.

"I'll take her." Ace said putting a small smirk onto his face.

Ace took Crystal to the room she was staying in as he watched Boris check the bandages around her arms, legs, neck and head first. Boris looked at Ace as he shooed his hand towards him.

"I have to check the bandages underneath her clothes." Boris told him giving him another shooing wave.

Ace blushed as he crossed his arms and sat at the edge of her bed facing the other way. "Can't we just use our nurses or something?"

"Jealous?" Boris chuckled toward him.

Ace didn't say anything as he huffed and kept his back to her. Boris motioned for her to take off her dress as he checked the bindings around her chest, stomach, hips, and upper thighs. He never actually bandaged her or took it off; he let the nurses do that or Lily.

Boris smirked as he watched Crystal start to slide her dress back on. She got it halfway down her stomach as he grabbed her chin and brought his face close. "You know I could always transfer my energy to you by a kiss."

Crystal dropped her dress in surprise as he put his hand on the other side of her hip and watched Ace quickly turn around to face them. Crystal puts her foot on his stomach and pushes him away as she backs up and into Ace. She turns quickly at feeling someone behind her and relaxes seeing Ace; she gets off the bed pulling Ace along as she glares at Boris for the joke as he laughed hard on the ground.

They walked back into the living room as Boris followed behind them and wiped a tear from his eye as his laughing calmed down.

"Crystal~" Luffy whined as he hung onto Crystal making her drag him across the floor. "I'm hungry~ Cook me something~"

"Luffy, there are cooks here." Thatch said pointing his thumb towards himself.

Luffy stuck his tongue out at him as he puffed out his cheeks. "No, I like Crystal's food! I haven't had it since she left with Ace out to see~!"

Ace knocked Luffy on the head as they started to argue about letting Crystal cook or let her rest. Crystal ignored them as she grabbed Thatch's wrist and pulled him towards the kitchen with her as she mumbled to him about what they should make. As everyone began to calm down out in the living room, Crystal and Thatch cooked up meat, mashed potatoes, corn, and many other things.

"Foods ready!" Crystal yelled out to the others; Crystal looked around as she found the workers around the palace and sat them down with them. It took a little coaxing, but they finally gave into her smiles and begs and ate with them.

"So," Marco said catching Crystal's attention as he stared at her. "Since when were you going to tell us that you were a princess?"

Crystal shrugged her shoulders as she put a bite into her mouth. "You guys never asked."

Everyone fell over at her response and looked at her incredulously. Conversations sprung up around the table as Marco kept teasing Crystal and Ace for his own pleasure and Whitebeard joined him after awhile about when he would have grandchildren and how good it was that his daughter brought in a son in law.

Crystal helped the workers clean up as everyone headed back to the living room to continue their conversations.

"Crystal!" Luffy yelled smiling as he spotted her. "That's was delicious!"

"That's good." Crystal said with a smile.

She walked over to Ace as he waved her over; Luffy stretched his arms and lunged at them knocking into Ace. Ace crashed into Crystal as they fell to the floor; Crystal's eyes widened as Ace's lips crashed onto hers in a heap as he braced his hand by her head and the other behind her back, while his knee ended up sliding in between her legs as she slightly lifted them up. Ace pulled away from her slowly as snickers, hoots, and hollers were heard throughout the room. Ace looked into Crystal's eyes as he watched her face redden; Ace got up quickly as his cheeks turned pink and he glared at Luffy.

Crystal touched her lips as she sat up with Ace and looked at the floor embarrassed. Crystal glanced up at Ace as he yelled at his brother for knocking into him and glared at Marco as he teased Ace for the show he had just given with Crystal. Crystal was thrown away from her stare as Luffy tackled her to the ground and began to whine.  
"It's not my fault!" Luffy yelled at Ace. "Crystal!" Luffy brought his attention to her as he smiled. "Do you think you could help me find my nakama?"

Crystal looked at him surprised by his question as she sat up and Marco pulled Luffy away.

"You idiot! She's probably still tired!" Marco yelled at him.

"Not after that kiss she isn't." Boris said chuckling by the door.

Crystal glared at him as her cheeks reddened again. "We'll see tomorrow Luffy." Crystal felt better, but didn't want to deal with anything else right now. Ace got up and sat on the couch as he agreed with Crystal; Crystal got up and sat in Ace's lap on habit as she laid her head down into the nape of his neck and leaned against his chest. The exhaustion of not sleeping since before Marineford finally caught up to her as her eyes drifted down and sleep over took her body.

Crystal woke up to a bright light shining in her face making her grumble and shift her head farther into her pillow. The pillow was hard as she tried to escape the light; her pillow moved as it groaned and something strong tightened around her waist pulling her closer. Crystal cracks her eyes and tenses as she finds herself lying on Ace's shoulder with her forehead into the nape of his neck, her body pressed against his side as her leg was thrown over his and her arm was set onto his chest. Her body began to tingled as if fire was creeping up her body; she gulped as Ace began to stir and open his eyes as he looked down at her and smiled.

"Thought you'd never wake up." He told her with a smirk. "We tried everything, but you wouldn't let me go."

He let go of Crystal as she sat up and looked around, noticing it was the room she had been staying in.

"I'm going to go take a shower real quick." She said thinking of an excuse to get away. She watched as Ace yawned and stretched his arms out above him. "Go back to sleep."

Ace peeked out at her from under his arms as he watched her walk into the bathroom.

"You should make a move you know."

Ace peeked towards the door to find Marco and Thatch standing there watching him with a smile.

"Shut up." He groaned. He had been holding himself back all night as she kept whispering his name in her sleep, snuggling closer to him, and feeling her warm breath race over his skin.

"You know, soon you won't be able to hold back." Thatch told him.

"You don't even look at other girl's anymore." Marco said smirking to him again. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Crystal, I brought you some clothes." Lily said walking by the door with clothes in her hands. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

"No, it's okay, we were just talking." Marco told her waving her to go on inside the room.

Lily walked into the room quickly as she went to the bathroom door. "Crystal?"

"Yeah?" Crystal said on the other side of the door. "It's unlocked!"

Lily opened the bathroom door letting the steam roam out of the room. Crystal opened the curtains as she let the hot water beat on her muscles and watched Lily.

"I brought you your clothes." Lily said bowing.

"Lily, hurry up and strip." Crystal told her with a smile.

Crystal heard a crash outside and knew the guys were listening in on their conversation.

"I know you're exhausted from taking care of me." Crystal pointed out looking at Lily. "Come on. Look no wounds at all anymore! Come join me in the shower."

"I mustn't do that." Lily told her with a shake of her head.

"'Mustn't'? Lily I told you that you don't need to be formal with me." Crystal said. She stepped out of the shower as she tugged Lily closer to the shower. "I don't care if I am princess, I told you along with everyone else in the kingdom that I am no higher and that they shouldn't treat me as if I am."

Lily sighed as she joined Crystal and groaned as the warm water hit her muscles. Crystal giggled watching Lily as they took a nice relaxing shower before getting out and dressed. Crystal changed into her normal clothes as she walked out of the bathroom with Lily and suppressed a laugh as she saw Ace spread out on the bed fast asleep. She put a finger to her lips as Lily looked at her and climbed onto the bed, plugging Ace's mouth and nose until he jerked up in bed gasping, throwing her off the end of the bed.

Crystal laughed hysterically as Ace looked over the edge of the bed and stared at her. She got up quickly as Lily giggled and ran out of the room with her making Ace chase after them. Ace caught Crystal as she reached outside and wrapped his arms around her waist as he lifted her up and spun her in the air.

"Okay you two." Jinbei said making them look over.

Jinbei, Luffy, Iva, Thatch, Marco, and Whitebeard stared at them with smiles as they laughed at their reactions of surprise from finding them there.

"We figured we could get supplies here before we go out to see again." Thatch said nodding towards the village.

"Sounds good." Crystal said as Ace let her down. Crystal began to run off as Ace hooked his thumb in her shorts and pulled her back to him.

They walked down to the village together as everyone greeted Crystal with smiles and waves. Children ran over to Crystal as they hung onto her shorts and hands smiling up at her.

"Crystal! Look how much I've grown!" A little boy said showing his 'muscles' to her.

A little girl walked up and spun around in a dress as Crystal applauded her and smiled. Ace watched as an 16 month old little boy teetered over to her with wobbly steps; Crystal squatted down holding out her arms for him as he walked faster with a smile towards her and fell into her arms as she stood back up, smiled at him, and cooed him with congratulations making him smile and laugh with happiness.

Ace smiled as he watched Crystal with the kids, playing with them, smiling at them, and making them feel accomplished for everything they've done right. She was great with kids, he knew this, but as he watched Crystal with these kids, he couldn't help but imagine that they were their kids she was playing around with. He shook his head as Crystal walked over to him and handed the little boy to him.

"He won't bite." She said with a smile. She looked as Ace shakily held out his hands towards the little boy. She could see he wasn't scared of the kids hurting him, but of him accidentally hurting the baby.

Crystal grabbed his arms and showed him how to hold the baby with gentleness and watched as the baby giggled towards Ace with a smile. Crystal ran her hand over the baby's head as she kissed his cheek; the mom walked over and smiled as she greeted Crystal and took the baby from them with a laugh as the baby waved awkwardly.

"I love kids." Crystal said waving to the kids as they left with the mom. "I can't wait till I have my own."

"Crystal!" A man yelled as he waved his arm. "Can you give me a hand?"

Crystal walked underneath a new building being built. "What do you need?"

He pointed above him as he looked down at her. "None of the men can get across that rafter to connect it to the others. We're all too heavy, because we throw it off balance. Can you help us?"

Crystal shrugged as she looked at the rafter above them being held up by rope. "Ace, can you help?"

Ace walked over as he put his hands on her waist and help her stand on his shoulders to reach the closest rafter. She climbed rafter after rafter until she reached the man and he handed her his tool belt that held a hammer and nails to connect the wooden rafters together. She climbed up the rafter she need to get to and carefully walked across to the other side.

Crystal took the belt off and set it on the rafter as she hung upside down and grabbed a couple nails and the hammer. She nailed the rafter together on that side before heading over to the other side and doing the same thing.

She hopped down from the rafter to the man as she gave him the belt back.

"Thanks, Crystal!" The man said as they smacked each other's hands.

"Crystal!" Ace yelled making here look down at him. "Jump!"

She looked at him incredulously as she was at least four stories of the ground. "You'll catch me right?" Ace nodded his head to her as she sucked in a breath and jumped to Ace.

She landed in his arms as he smirked at her smugly and put her down on her feet. Crystal felt a tingle at the back of her mind as she pushed Ace and Luffy back, and jumped away as someone hit the ground. The man flashed towards Crystal and threw a pipe towards her; Crystal caught the pipe and spun it around in her hands before putting it at his throat.  
"Nice to know you're nice and healthy now." The man said as the dirt cleared.  
"I was wondering when you would get here." Crystal told him with a smirk. Ace and Luffy watched as a large black top hat with blue goggles resting on it appeared along with a blue over jacket, white ruffled ascot, blue pants and black boots. The man sat up as blonde buzzed cut flashed below the hat with a smile that had a missing tooth. "Sabo."

"Sabo?!" Ace and Luffy yelled as they looked at their thought dead brother.

"Hey, Ace, Luffy," Sabo said giving a quick wave.


	20. Separating Ways

**One Piece (C) EIchiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**R&R**

**Chapter 20**

* * *

"YOU'RE ALIVE?!" Luffy yells as his eyes bulge out of his head. "YOU'RE A GHOST! SO COOL!"

Sabo stands up and punches Luffy in the head as a sweat mark appears on his forehead. "I'm not a ghost aho!"

"But," Ace said his eyes almost falling out of his head. "How are you alive?"

"Crystal!" Boris said running down the road. He stops in front of her as he relaxes. "There are some people in the palace who need to talk to you."

"Yeah, _Princess_. Your people need you." Marco said teasingly making her smack his shoulder and walk up the road to the palace with Boris.

"Ace! Sabo!" Crystal yelled down stopping. "If I find out that something happens to you two accidental people while I'm gone, I'M the one who is going to kill you!"

Sabo chuckled as he waved her off and watched with a smile.

"Sabo, there were many people who watched you die." Ace said trying to figure out how his deceased brother was standing before them.

"I know, I know." Sabo said giving an apologetic smirk. "The reason I'm alive…well…it's actually thanks to Crystal." Sabo sighed as he watched Ace and Luffy push on about it. "At first I didn't understand either. First I was watching a giant cannonball come towards me the next I'm appearing on this island with people around me. Later I found out from Boris that I had a shield around me that had transported me to this kingdom."

Sabo sighed as he looked at the audience he had accumulated by telling the story. "Boris said the only one who could do that and know about this kingdom was their Princess Crystal Hijiri. Of course I told him that I knew her and she grew up with us. Crystal had unconsciously transported me here before I was in trouble. Every since she met us, she has put up a protective force around us."  
"What? How is that possible?" Luffy asked as he looked around himself.  
"Have you ever almost been defeated and all of a sudden feel a big burst of energy? Or almost get hit, but have it miss you suddenly?" Sabo asked looking at them.

He watched as not only Luffy and Ace, but Whitebeard and Crystal's friends nod, realizing that has happened quite often. He smiled as he heard Crystal yell happily towards them making everyone look up at her with surprise.

"What?" She asks looking at them.

"What I don't understand, is how did she know you were alive?" Ace asked.

Crystal flinched as she holds up a finger. "Hold on." She reaches over and grabs Ace's hat and puts it on her head. "I'm preparing for a hit."

Sabo smiled as he looked at them. "She met me when you, Ace, had just set out to sea. You were captain of a ship and she ran into me at a town."  
Ace and Luffy's jaws dropped as they looked at her incredulously. "He told me not to tell you!" She yells quickly. "I wanted to tell you, but Sabo said he would tell you guys himself."

Ace watched as she pulled his hat down over her eyes trying to prepare for the hit on her head. He shakes his head as a sigh escapes his lips and she peeks from under his hat; Sabo smirks as he wraps his arm around Crystal's neck, pulls off Ace's hat, and ruffles her hair into the air as she squirms to try and get away.

Crystal freezes as she quickly gets out of Sabo's arm and pushes him away. She steps to the side just as a man flies by where Crystal was standing.

"Crystal!" The man said quickly recovering and grabbing Crystal around her waist.

Crystal flipped her legs up as she vaults over the man's head, using her hands and arms to steady her, and lands behind him before she runs to Ace and hides behind him. Ace glares at the man standing before him; he looked at the man's shaggy dirty blond hair, dark green eyes, innocent, childish face, tall, scrawny body, but with enough balk to make him look strong.

"Tadao! I told you to stop doing that!" Crystal complained to him as she narrows his eyes.

"Come on! Not even one hug?" Tadao asks her with a pout from his lower lip.

"No." Crystal told him quickly as she gripped Ace's arm.

Tadao sighs as he stands up and finally notices Ace; he looks from Ace to Crystal and back again as an idea pops into his head. "You must be Ace." He said crossing his arms and looking Ace up and down.

"Sorry man, I don't go for guys." Ace said with a smirk as he brings Crystal in front of him, drapes his arms around her waist, hooks his thumbs into her shorts, and lays his head onto hers.

Tadao flushed as his eyes narrowed towards Ace. "Pretty close huh?"

"Yeah, we've known each other since she was seven." Ace said smirking in victory.

Tadao smirked back as Ace's left. "Well, I've known her since she was two. Which is why I don't understand why she lets YOU hang onto her, but not me."

"Tadao, stop being jealous." Crystal said walking out of Ace's grasp and to Tadao. She pats his head making him pout even more. "You forget you're a year younger than me."

Tadao grabs her hand as he looks her in the eye. "I don't care! I've told you that age doesn't matter!" Ace and the others look surprisingly to Tadao as he puts his face closer to hers. "I will protect you Crystal! I've told you so many times….I'm in love with you."

Everyone's jaws drop in shock as they stare at the unfamiliar man so simply and carelessly confessing to Crystal. Ace watches with wide eyes as he quickly watches Crystal's face for any hint on feelings there. Crystal watches Tadao unmoving as she smiles and lets out a small giggle; she covers her mouth until she her laughs can't be controlled and come out.

"Tadao, you've been saying the same thing since you were one and you could speak. Are you sure that your feelings aren't just because Nii-chan said that he was entrusting you to be a 'man' around me?" Crystal asked composing herself and looking at him accusingly.

Tadao opened his mouth then closed it as he thought about it. "No!" He finally says as he looks everywhere but at her.

She looks at him accusingly as she crosses her arms. "Besides, what about that girl…what was her name?...Akira!"

"Who called?" A girl with long dirty blonde hair, and dark blue eyes says popping up behind Crystal making Crystal jump.

"You must be Akira?" Crystal asks unsure.

"Yep!" The girl says smiling as she narrows her eyes at Crystal and eyes her up and down. "And I'm guessing you're Crystal?" Her tone went from cheerful to scrutinizing as she watched Crystal.

"Yep." Crystal said watching her with a smile.

"Tadao talks about you a lot. How did you know my name?" Akira asked with a glare.

"You kidding?" Crystal said laughing making Akira look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Tadao won't shut up about you!" Akira brightens at Crystal as said girl moves to Akira and whispers to her ear. "He talks about how he wants to be with you, but is too worried that he won't be able to make you happy."

Akira looks at Tadao with a smile as she leaps at him and wraps her arms around his neck. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Tadao looked at Crystal worriedly as she sticks her tongue out. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth," Crystal told him making him look at the girl hanging onto him with worry.

"By the way Sabo, how is your training going?" Tadao asked Sabo as Boris walked down with a heavy sigh.  
"Training?" Luffy asks interested. "For what?"

"You didn't tell them?" Tadao asks as he looks at Sabo and Crystal. "Sabo became a dragon holder."

"You mean he holds a dragon like Crystal?" Ace says staring at Sabo with surprise.

"Well, not like Crystal's, we're more of her bodyguards." Sabo explained to them.

"How many are there?" Jinbei asks them.

"Me, my siblings, my parents, Sabo, Lily, and Tadao." Crystal spouted out to them.

Thatch shakes his head as he looks at Crystal. "We're going to be heading out tonight. How about you help me find the supplies we need?" Crystal nods her head as she walks over to Ace, gives him a hug and kiss on the cheek and walks off with Thatch.

"Are you and Crystal together?" A woman with short brunette hair and hazel eyes says walking up.  
"You're….Lily, right?" Ace asks remembering her from helping Crystal and this morning.

"Yeah, but you didn't answer my question." She said smirking.

"No," Ace said blushing and looking down at the floor.

"He won't take a chance on making a move to her." Marco said snickering.

"Okay, I'll admit defeat with her. But only because she is so attached to you." Tadao said holding up his hands. "But dude, I have to tell you. If you don't take a chance to get her soon, others will take her away from you. There are guys out there who have feelings for her, not just me."

"Like who?" Luffy asked curious.

"Me, another man named Takeshi, Boris there likes her but won't admit it, Sabo even has a little crush on her." Tadao told them.

Ace looks at the doctor with surprise, but looks at Sabo with awe struck wonder at the news. Crystal appears out of nowhere as she smacks him in the head.

"Would you stop it! Sabo is going to marry Lily and have kids with her someday!" Crystal yelled pointing her finger at him. Lily blushes as Sabo fumbles for words quickly. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't supposed to tell her how you felt."

Crystal took off running to Lily as Sabo tried to grab her. She grinned at Lily before she let go and ran back to Thatch who was at a nearby shop looking outside for her.

"That girl!" Sabo said face palming his forehead. "I can't believe she said that!"

Whitebeard laughed gruffly making everyone else laugh as the scene finally sunk in to everyone. "What did you need, my dear girl." Whitebeard asks smiling to Lily.

"Actually I was wondering if I could join your crew." Lily said shocking everyone. "I've known Crystal only for a couple years, but I want to be there to protect her."

Whitebeard smiled widely as he stared at the mouse like girl standing before him. "And you my son?" He asks Sabo making him jump in surprise. "Would you also like to join?"

"Actually, yeah, not only because I want to protect her, but because I'd like to be together with my family once again." Sabo said.

"No! I wanted Sabo to join my crew!" Luffy whined as he hung onto Sabo's arm begging him to change his mind. Luffy gave up and pouted behind everyone else.

A woman yells as she trips on the road and a bucket of water flies through the air towards Tadao and Akira with plates and bowls following after them. Tadao looks up quickly as he raises his hand and freezes the water as Akira rushes forward and catches all the plates and bowls with ease and hands them to the woman once again. Luffy watches it with stars in his eyes as his smile spreads across his face with joy.

"You should join my crew!" Luffy yells to them making them watch him with confusion.

"Who said we would want to?" Akira asks him.

"Because, I'm going to be the next Pirate King!" Luffy yells excitedly and proudly.

Akira looked at him warily for a second before smiling and agreeing to join his crew, making Tadao agree, and Luffy to smile from ear to ear.

"Daddy!" Crystal yelled to Whitebeard waving her arm in the air. "Thatch says we're all ready!"

"Men! Let's head back out!" Whitebeard yelled catching the attention of his men around the town.

Ace watched as the town's people crowded around Crystal, saying goodbye and giving her hugs; the children whined that she needed to stay as they hung onto her clothes, arms, and legs.

"I promise you'll see me again." Crystal told them softly as she wiped their tears away and hugged them all.

"But why do you have to go out to sea so soon?"

"Because she wants to be with her boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah! Ace!"

Crystal blushed hard as she listened to all the kids talking to each other. "AH! Stop, stop, stop!"

The kids turned to look at her and giggled as they watched her face turn into a tomato.

"Crystal and Ace sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Crystal started chasing after the with her face red as they ran away giggling. Crystal tripped and fell to the floor face first as the kids stopped and walked over to her. The kids nudged her as she didn't move making Ace begin to walk over to her with worry; she popped up at the last minute as she grabbed a couple of the kids into a big hug as she smiled with her nose red from the fall. The kids laughed as Crystal began to tickle them; Ace walked over the rest of the way as he ruffled her hair.

The kids ran over to Ace and hung onto him, making him pick them up and smirk.

"Make sure you keep Crystal safe! Okay?" A kid told him as he hung onto Ace's neck.

"I will," Ace assured him with a smile and a pat to his head. "Crystal, come on, let's go."

Crystal smiled as she grabbed Ace's hand he reached out to her and walked with him to the ship with her family on it. Crystal waved to Luffy as she tossed a bracelet to him with a similar jewel to her necklace on a silver chain.

"Woah! What is this? It's like your necklace!" Luffy said as his eyes widened in awe and his smile spread across his face.

"It'll help you find your nakama!" Crystal told him with a smirk. "Think of Ace!"

Luffy looked at her with confusion as he shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes; the bracelet in his hand began to move and he opened his eyes to see what was happening. The jewel on the necklace glowed as it lifted slightly towards Ace and a beam of light flashed out towards him a few inches.

"So cool!" Luffy said as he watched the necklace move with each nakama he thought of.

"And another thing!" Crystal said catching his attention again. "You may need this."

Crystal ushered by Whitebeard's ship making everyone looked over and watch as the Thousand Sunny sailed around a cliff and into the sight of its captain. Crystal turned her head to look at Luffy with a smile, only to come crashing down into the deck as something, or should she say someone, slammed into her.

"Thank you so much Crystal!" Luffy said hanging onto her and tears flew down his face in happiness.

"Go find your nakama!" Crystal told him with a chuckle.

Luffy nodded as he got off of Crystal and jumped onto his ship ready to sail off. Crystal watched as Tadao and Akira jumped onto the ship with their new captain and the Thousand Sunny sailed off with Luffy waving towards everyone.

A hand was placed on her head as she looked up to find Whitebeard smiling down at her.

"You two have one strange brother." He told Crystal and Ace.

"Yeah, but he's becoming stronger than I ever thought possible." Crystal said.

"He may very well become the next Pirate King." Ace said.

Crystal let out a snicker making everyone look at her and Sabo give her a pointed look. "Never mind." Crystal said waving her hand in front of her to dismiss it.

"She'll tell you later," Sabo told them.

"Sabo!" Crystal told him pointedly.

"You'll have to tell them sooner or later. Especially since now the whole world knows who Ace's father is." Sabo said making everyone stare at him and Crystal in confusion and wonder. "It's best that they know. Though I'm pretty sure Whitebeard would know already." Sabo nodded to Whitebeard making everyone look in confusion to their captain.

Crystal sighed as she gave up the argument and walked into the kitchen with Thatch to try and get the food ready for dinner.

"So why is it you don't want to tell us?" Thatch asked Crystal making the few members in the dining room next to the kitchen listen in.

"Yeah, it makes us anxious to know what is making you not want to tell your own family." Marco added in.

The commanders looked at their fellow crewmate in wonder as Ace hopped onto a barstool in front of her dish that she made as Sabo sat down next to him.

"It's not that I'm scared or worried. I just don't want to ruin your dreams if I tell you." Crystal told them as she stirred a bowl of pasta sauce.

"What…" Marco began.

"Marco," Crystal cut in, "this time I think it's best if you just leave it be until I will tell you."

Marco sighed as he smirked towards her and waved his hand to dismiss the question away. She nodded a thank you to him as she began to cook again trying to get her mind away from the growing questions of her family around her. It didn't last long as dinner came around and everyone shoveled in the food and made jokes about each other, finally letting the marines and Marineford travel from their minds with the worry and fear.

"So, are you going to tell us?" Jozu asked Crystal as she came back with Thatch from cleaning up the empty dishes.

Crystal opened her mouth but closed it, not finding any words coming to explain what she needed to tell them.

"Streams of golden silk," Sabo began as he crossed his arms and thought of a plan, "blue jewels that shine in the sun with light, pearls that are creamy and smooth as silk, a red ruby filled with light, a power beyond imagination, a power that can control anything and everything, one that can determine the life or death of the world. The greatest power one can hold, for light or dark, only the strongest will be able to tame it and control it."

"Yeah, we know that. Every pirate does." Marco said to Sabo. "It's how Gold Roger explained One Piece to the world."

"But only higher up pirates know that Gold Roger left One Piece to a certain someone." Sabo said. "Right Whitebeard?"

Whitebeard nodded his head and grumbled. "He may have been my rival, but he did tell me one thing. He was leaving One Piece to his son."

Ace's eyes widened as he spat out his sake and looked at Whitebeard. "Is that why you were trying to make me Pirate King? So I can get the One Piece Gold Roger left?" Ace's anger flared as he realized that Whitebeard was helping the father he hated.

Whitebeard began to laugh making Ace's anger calm down. "I wanted you to be Pirate King so you could lead a new Era!" Whitebeard calmed down as he looked at his son softly and smiled. "Besides your father was right, One Piece does belong to you."

"But I don't want One Piece!" Ace said to Whitebeard in a begging tone to stop.

"You already have it." Whitebeard told him with a mischievous smirk.

Everyone stared at confusion at their captain and what he just told them.

"So you did know old-man." Sabo said with a smile.

"Of course I would know!" Whitebeard said with a smirk. "Roger was a smart guy! He left One Piece in my care! What kind of father would I be if I didn't know my own daughter?"  
Everyone quickly looked from Whitebeard to Crystal and back again trying to make sense of this.

"What does Crystal have to do with One Piece?" Marco asked confused and with a frown.

"Listen to what Roger said about One Piece," Sabo told them as he waved his arm to Crystal. "Streams of golden silk, blue jewels that shine in the sun with light, pearls that are as creamy and smooth as silk, a red ruby filled with light," Marco's and a couple other crewmate's eyes widen in realization at what they weren't getting before, "a power beyond imagination, a power that can control anything and everything, one that can determine the life or death of the world. The greatest power one can hold, for light or dark, only the strongest will be able to tame it and control it."

Sabo looked at everyone and saw that most were still confused. He looked at Ace hoping that he had got it but saw that Ace was denying the fact of the puzzle pieces fitting together.

Sabo sighed as he stood up and looked at everyone before looking at Crystal. "Crystal IS One Piece!"

Crystal began to glow as her hair fell out of its ribbon and cascaded around her; wind blew her hair from side to side gently as the light enveloped her completely. Jaws dropped as they watched her hair shine, her eyes fill with light, her skin become flawless, and light create almost invisible wings behind her. Slowly it died down as everyone processed the news and the sight before them.

Ace opened his mouth to speak when a voice interrupted him. "It's about time! I was wondering if anyone was ever going to figure out the code!" A man with shaggy black hair, brown eyes, and a big, curled, black mustache. A red coat was hung over his shoulders as he crossed his arms and smirked at everyone on the ship before glancing at Crystal then at Whitebeard. "I see you've taken good care of her Whitebeard!"

"Of course!" Whitebeard said with a huff.

"Its….its….GOLD ROGER!" Crewmates yelled in unison as their jaws dropped even more, eyes bugged out of their heads, and fear made their faces pale.

Roger faced Crystal as he looked her up and down before smiling again. "You've grown a lot Crystal. Especially here." Roger made motions of pushing up boobs on his own chest as she reddened and tried to hit him over the head.

"Pervert!" Crystal yelled as she walked over to Ace. "No wonder you two are related." She looked from Ace to Roger in disbelief at how similar they were.

Roger smirked evilly as he watched his son. "He wouldn't be able to grab them though. That's the difference between him and me."  
Ace's anger spiked as he quickly reached out and grabbed Crystal's right breast. She looked down at his hand in surprise as Ace came to his senses and looked also before quickly letting go. Crystal's face turned into a tomato as she smacked her forehead and hid behind Ace's arm as Roger watched her with a laugh.

A woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles across her cheeks, wearing a long short sleeved blue dress appears as she hits Roger over the head with a fist and looks at Crystal with an apologetic smile.

"Rouge!" Crystal said smiling widely as the woman walked in front of her and Ace. Crystal looked up at Ace with a smile, but let it fall as she saw the pain on his face. Crystal looked down as she stepped away from Ace and hung a hand onto her elbow in guilt. "I'm sorry."

Ace clenched his teeth as he grabbed Crystal's hand. "Is it really her?"

Crystal nodded as she felt Ace's hand tighten around hers.

Rouge smiled as she reached out her hand and placed it on Ace's cheek. "You've done very well, my son."

Ace let go of Crystal's had as he placed it over his mother's and smiled. Ace let out a small chuckle as he Rouge's hand dropped and he looked at his father. "Even in death, you still go to him."

"What do you mean by…" Roger began to yell, but stopped as he saw Crystal shake her head at him.

The crew watches in worry at the reunion; some decided to sit down from all the shock, as others moved closer to see.

"Sometimes love makes you do crazy things." Rouge told him. "I didn't care if your father was the Pirate King, and I was overjoyed when I found out I would have his son. I was proud when I knew you would live your life before the Marine's could get you. Falling in love is not something you can control."

"But," Ace said trying to glare at Roger.

"Did you give up on Crystal when you found out she was a Hijiri?" Rouge asked him with an edge. "Would you give up on her if her parents came after her?"

"Never," Ace said his eyes narrowing.

"Exactly." Rouge said placing her hands on her hips and nodding. "No matter who Crystal is, or what may happen to her, you'll stay by her side, right?"

Ace nodded his head as he sighed and finally got what his mother was trying to get to. He looked at his father and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. But Whitebeard is still my father." Ace stood his ground as Roger looked at him sternly.

Roger cracked into a laugh as he reached out his hand and Ace grabbed it in a firm shake. "I understand." Roger pats Ace on the back as they sling their arms around each other. Rouge smiles as she looks at Crystal but see's her still looking down at the deck guilty she didn't tell Ace.

Rouge looks at Ace and nods her head to Crystal once he looks back; he nods his head and lets go of Roger before walking over to Crystal.

"I'm sorry," Crystal said quietly. "I know you hate him. That's why I didn't want to tell you, but I knew I was going to have to tell you sooner or later."

Crystal gasps as she is lifted into the air as arms wrap around her waist.

"I'm not mad at you. If anything, I'm glad. I got to see my mom, and for once I'm not angry at Roger." Ace told her as he held her close to him.

Crystal smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "I'm sorry,"

"Would you stop saying that!" Ace said with a chuckle.

Crystal laughed as she leaned back and looked at Ace. "What you said….did you mean it? About not ever leaving my side."

Ace froze as he looked at her, but saw the worry in her eyes and smiled. "If I left, who the hell would I leave you to? No way am I leaving you to anyone else, but me."

Crystal smiled as she sighed and leaned her forehead against Ace's, making him smile softly back to her.

"Crystal," Roger said interrupting them and making her look up at him. "I have some information for you." Crystal gave him a look that said to continue, but watch as Roger was no longer joking around. "About your parents."

Crystal tensed as Ace tightened his hold on her; she dropped her legs as she let go of his neck and turned around in his arms so she was facing the former Pirate King.

"Of course you knew that the whole reason I chose you to be One Piece, even before you were born, was because I knew your brother, and he had told me how strong you would be. He had an eerie way of knowing stuff in the future, and them coming true." Crystal nodded her head, knowing well that's how her brother was. "But he gathered information before you were taken to my son, about your parents and their plans. They plan to have you killed before you turn eighteen; at the age of eighteen, if you don't have a contract made with another, they will be able to take your powers. If you do have a contract with another by the age of eighteen then they will have to kill you before then to obtain your powers, because if they don't, you and your dragon will be fully connected and they will not be able to take it."

"But a contract is dangerous for Crystal!" Lily said, finally making herself known out of the crowd.

"I know, that's exactly why I'm telling her now." Roger said looking at Lily pointedly. "She has five months before her birthday. She needs to make a decision before then."

"Why don't I do it now then?" Crystal said making Sabo, Roger, Rouge, Lily, and Whitebeard snap their heads to her.

"But it's too dangerous for you!" Lily told her as she walked up.

"You know the consequences of making a contract with another." Sabo told her as he held Lily back.

"Yeah," Crystal said nodding to him. "If the one I make a contract with wishes me dead, it will happen, if the one I make a contract with is injured, I will get the same injuries, but he or she will not obtain the injuries I get. They will be able to use a bit of my powers, along with small rights to controlling my dragon. If my contractor is to dead, then I too will die, but if I die, my contractor will not be harmed. I must listen to my contractor and do as they say, within the limits."

"That doesn't sound very fair," Marco said thinking about the contract.

"It sounds more threatening to you than the one you make a contract with," Thatch added in.

"Which is why I don't want her to make a contract at all!" Roger yelled at her.

Crystal looked at Rouge and saw her shrug her shoulders, not knowing what to do. "I will do as my father says."

"What?! But he wants you dead!" Roger yelled at her, his anger flaring quickly like Ace's.

Rouge grabbed his arm gently making him stop and look at her. "She doesn't mean her blood father."

Roger stopped and looked at Whitebeard knowingly, as Crystal and the others were already looking at him.

"Daddy, what should I do?" She asked him. She searched his face for any hint or sign to what he was thinking as he stared at her and Roger with a black expression.

"I'll allow it," Whitebeard told her making her smile, and Roger's face reddened in fury, "if I accept the one who you are creating the contract with." Whitebeard looked at Ace with a serious face making him sigh in realization. "The only person I accept to make a contract with Crystal is the only one I accept to be close to her; my son Portgas D. Ace. I don't think you'd have any objections to this, do you Roger? After all you did leave Crystal to him in the first place."

Roger sighed as he smirked and looked at Ace and Crystal, still close to each other; with Ace's arms around Crystal and her leaning against him for support. "No, I don't. You're right, he's the only one I can accept and know that he could protect her and keep her safe."

Sabo chuckled as he walked up to Crystal. "The question is, can you make the contract?"

Crystal looked at him confused, until she thought about what she had to do to seal the contract. She looked up at Ace to find him watching her with a quirked eyebrow.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she turned in his arms once again to face him and held his hands in hers.

"Are you willing to do this?" She asked him, her face more serious than he's ever seen her look at him. She watched as Ace nodded his head in agreement; Crystal closed her eyes as wind surrounded them. "It'll be easier since you already have a replica of my necklace. Red dragon of my mind, body, and soul," Ryuuji appears around her as he swirls protectively around her body, "I am making a contract with Portgas D. Ace. Giving him the right to me along with you." Ryuuji looks up at Ace as he now swirls around both their bodies, keeping his head near Crystal as he watches Ace. Ace watches as his eyes grow big; he lets out a deep breath and closes his eyes calming himself down. "We have both agreed to the terms in the contract, along with accepting what may happen if we make said contract. Portgas D. Ace," Crystal opened her eyes as Ace looked down at her, trying to keep his breathing steady. "I make a contract with thee and seal this contract with a kiss." Ace didn't have time to process the last part she said as she slid her hand onto his cheek and laid her lips upon his. Ace stood there in wonder as light enveloped both of them and the wind died down. Ryuuji flew around them before changing into a red light and escaping into both their necklaces.

Crystal parted away from Ace slowly as she opened her eyes and looked at Ace embarrassed. Ace watched her as she put her hand to her lips and tried to make the blush go away. "That's the third time I purposely kissed him." She whispered to herself not knowing Ace could hear her.

Ace thought about the times she did them, but could only think of two; just now with the contract, and when she healed herself so she could go with him to find Blackbeard. "Third?"

"Oh, yeah! The second time was in Marineford!" Marco said with a smirk.

Crystal threw her boot at Marco before he could say anything else.

"Well then, we can see you're in good hands." Rouge said as she walked up to Crystal and grabbed her hands. "I hope you and my son will keep each other safe and happy."

"See you again Crystal!" Roger told her with a laugh as he grabbed Rouge's hand. "See you again too, Ace." Roger waved as Rouge blew a kiss to Ace before they disappeared off the deck.

"What did Marco mean by 'the second was at Marineford'?" Sabo asked as him, Lily, and Ace looked at her questioningly.

"How do you think Ace is alive?" Thatch said joining in Marco's torture.

"Shut up!" Crystal said quickly as she grabbed to cover Thatch's mouth with hers.

"After Ace fell, Crystal confessed her feelings for him and laid a kiss on his lips. Next thing you know he was glowing and after a couple of days, he's alive with no wound at all." Marco told them.

Crystal reddened as she dove for Marco and tackled him to the deck as he laughed and rolled around dodging her attacks. Whitebeard grabbed her as she lunged for Marco again; she pouted as Whitebeard set her on his knee and patted her head. Crystal looked down at her lap as her red face became brighter; she couldn't look Ace in the eye as he watched her.

"None of us could believe she did that!" Vista said as he patted Ace on the back. "Seems as if you two lovebirds had the same feelings for each other."

Ace blushed as the others laughed at Crystal and her red face. He looked at Crystal then Marco in disbelief.

"Man, you didn't know?" Marco asked him incredulously. "I thought you would have heard it!" Marco watched him with a smirk as the others joined in with how it was their first time seeing Crystal cry ever, how she confessed that she 'loved' him, and how she kissed him as a goodbye, but ended up saving his life.

"Hey, where's Crystal?" Sabo asked looking around the deck, but not finding her anywhere with them anymore.

"She left with Lily a couple minutes ago," Thatch told them as he pointed his thumb back towards the rooms. "Seems you guys may have taken it a bit too far. You guys forget that Crystal isn't the kind of girl to admit her feelings."

"Yet, we were making fun of her confessing to Ace, damn." Marco said rubbing his neck in guilt.

"I think she's more embarrassed than anything right now." Thatch said as he took a swig of sake. "I don't think she wanted Ace to know about it."  
Ace froze in place hurt that it may be true. "Why?"

"She didn't want anything to change between the two of you," Whitebeard said after taking a big swig of his sake and letting out a huff. "She's always been that way, took me a year to get her to call me Daddy and open up."

"But that doesn't give a good explanation." Marco said looking up at his father.

"Think if you were her. Every person she's opened up to and had feelings for has been hurt, almost been killed, or has been killed. Would you want the person you're closest to, know that you had that strong of feelings for them?"

"Crystal," Lily said as she sat next to her friend. "It's not bad to have feelings for a close friend."

"You don't have a contract with the person you like." Crystal accused as she hid her still red face from Lily.

"Sabo and I DO have a contract with each other." Lily told her. Crystal looked up Lily surprised by the light heartedness of the answer. "You see, Sabo and I had to make a contract with someone in order for us to gain a dragon. We figured since we were both new to the contracts, we would help each other and become each other's contractors."

Crystal smirked as she looked at Lily. "You just confessed that you love Sabo." She told Lily with a mischievous smirk.

"Wha….I never….I didn't…" Lily rambled on trying to find an excuse for the hidden confession.

"I'm telling Sabo~" Crystal sang to Lily, before dashing off the bed and out to the deck once again. "SABO!" She ran away from Lily as she spotted said person looking at her.

Crystal quickly turned before Lily grabbed her and side stepped her again before launching towards Sabo. She grabbed onto his wrist and spun behind him as Lily desperately tried to run to him.

"Lily just told me that she looooooooooooves you." Crystal whispered into his ear with a smirk.

Crystal dropped from Sabo's shoulder and steeped back as said man looked at the girl running towards them. Lily blushed as she tackled Crystal to the floor with a yell of her name. Lily glanced back to see Sabo still watching her with a surprised face, and turned back to Crystal with an embarrassed look.

"Crystal!" Lily yelled at her accusingly.

"I had to." Crystal said with her hand over her mouth trying to stop the laugh that was trying to escape. Crystal rolled Lily over and leaned down next to her ear. "At least you know Sabo feels the same."

Crystal jumped up quickly before Lily could grab her once again.

"Hey Crystal, we're sorry." Marco said as Crystal jumped around dodging Lily's attacks.

"For what?" Crystal asked laughing. She stopped as she bumped backwards into something hard and looked up freezing where she was as she saw Ace looking down at her. Her face reddened as she looked down at the deck and jumped away from him quickly.

"Crystal," Ace said making her jump in surprise. He reached out his hand to touch her arm, wanting to see in her eyes if what the crew said was true.

"Crystal!" Lily yelled tackling Crystal from the side and skidding across the deck, leaving a stunned and stupefied Ace standing there looking where Crystal was.

Ace turned his head slowly as he watched Lily get off of Crystal warily and look down at said person as she laid on the deck unmoving. Finally her arm moved and pushed her up as her other was placed over her red nose. She sat on the deck as her face was now red, not from embarrassment or anger, but from skidding across the floor from the tackle.

"Ow," She said rubbing her face and looking accusingly at Lily who gave her a sheepish grin and a small laugh.

"I'll go get a wet rag." Lily said as she walked into the kitchen quickly and returned with the rag. She handed it to Crystal as Crystal looked at it questioningly.

Ace sighed as he walked over and sat in front of Crystal, grabbing the cold wet rag from her hands. Crystal looked away quickly, not wanting to see denial in his face; Ace gently grabbed her chin as he made her face him and pressed the rag to her cheek. Crystal flinch from the pain of cold on rubbed skin, before looking up at Ace. She watched as he gently began to dab the rag around her face to get the dirt off and cool the skin off from the skid. Ace stopped as he dabbed the last part of her cheek and let go of Crystal's face as they looked at each other.

"Crystal, I…" Ace began before Crystal held up her hand to him and smiled.

"It's okay. Really, you don't have to answer at all." Crystal closed her eyes as she let out a sigh. "I'm not sure I can handle any answer." She looked up at Ace again, giving him a small apologetic smile.

Ace watched her as he saw her emotions for him fly around behind her eyes, but he also saw fear and worry. Whitebeard was right, she was scared that if he did become that close that he may be taken away somehow. He had run away from his feelings ever since he met her; he was sick of running, he wasn't going to let her get away this time.

Ace reached forward as he cupped her face and pressed his lips to her gently. Crystal's eyes widened as she looked into Ace's eyes; she saw his emotions plainly on his face. He broke away and he leaned his forehead onto hers, still cupping her face in his hands.

"I'm not letting you get away this time." Ace told her softly.

Crystal and Ace heard hoots, hollers, and whistlers behind them as they both blushed and remembered that they were on the deck still in front of everyone.

"Aw, how sweet," A gruff voice said with a laugh, making everyone freeze and turn to silence as they looked at the man speaking. "It's nice to see my two commanders getting together finally. Too bad, after all, I came here just for you, _Angel_."

Crystal stood up as Ace went in front of her and Sabo and Lily flanked her sides. Crystal hung onto Ace's arm as she watched the man who threw them into Marineford stand on the figurehead of the Moby Dick. Whitebeard stood up as his bisento smashed into the floor with anger.

"What are you doing here, Blackbeard?" Whitebeard said with poison dripping off every word. The crew stood tensely as they readied for a fight. Marco grabbed Crystal as he ushered her toward Thatch to stand behind all of them.


	21. Twist in Her Life

All rights pertaining to the characters and plot of One Piece go to Eiichiro Oda-sensei. Crystal, Grown up Sabo, Lily, Boris, and Sakura are all characters I have made and have rights to.

* * *

Blackbeard laughed gruffly and evilly as his eyes turned to slits. "I'm here for Hikari No Tenshi."

Crystal gasps as she nudges past Marco and back up to Sabo, Ace, and Lily. "How do you know that name?"

Blackbeard smiled as his eyes rested on her with pride. "Well, let's just say I had a little chat with some people who told me your story. They sent me here to come get you."

"That doesn't answer my question." Crystal said furious.

"Let's just say we got information about how your dear brother Takeru used to call you that." Blackbeard said smirking his chilling smile to her.

Crystal began to shake in fear and anger as she watched Blackbeard's every move.

"You see, your parents really want you back." Blackbeard egged on as he held out his hand to her. "Won't you come with me?"

"Like hell I will!" Crystal shouted to him as she balled her fists and her eyes turned red. "I would never go with a scumbag like you!"

Blackbeard's smile disappeared as his eyes narrowed towards her. "You'll regret saying that. You don't have a decision on whether you go to your parents or not." Blackbeard held out his hand as darkness flashed out of it and crawled across the deck towards Crystal.

Ace and Crystal jump away from each other as the darkness shoots between them; Sabo's appear all around Crystal as a wall, protecting her from the attacks of the darkness. Lily grabs Crystal as she makes them turn invisible.

"Let me go!" Crystal yells to her friend.

"We have to get you somewhere safe!" Lily yelled at her with strictness as her grip didn't falter around Crystal's wrist.

They stopped as Sabo shouted and was thrown past them into the wall; Crystal looked around at the crew as the darkness began to swallow them and throw them around the deck. Lily pulled Crystal into the air as darkness tried to swallow up around their feet.

"You think you could hide from me?" Blackbeard says as he appears in front of the two. Blackbeard thrusts his hand forward as Lily is ripped away from Crystal, sent into the wall, and crashing to the floor. Crystal drops to the ground as she rolls to the edge and hits the side of the ship.

Crystal sits up quickly and jumps into the air as darkness flashes below her feet; it shoots up into the air after her and wraps around her ankle. Crystal screams out as the darkness surrounds her in a numbing cold that burns her skin; it climbs up her legs as it continues burning her with its cold.

Lily charges Blackbeard as he glares at Crystal; he looks at Lily and grabs her by the throat catching her before she hit him. Lily kicks her leg out, connecting with his groin and making him let her go and giving her a chance to touch his forehead. Blackbeard begins to scream in pain as Lily gets into his head and makes pain lance throughout his body.

"Let her go you bastard!" Lily shouted as she dodged his flailing limbs.

"Crystal!" Ace yelled as he saw the darkness had crept up her stomach and up to her elbows. He looked for a source to hit with his fire, but the only places he could hit, would end up burning Crystal in the process.

"Ace!" Crystal yelled back feebly as the darkness tightened around her throat.

"Enough!" Whitebeard yelled smashing his fist into the air. Waves rose around them in fury as Blackbeard is sent flying across the deck and over onto the figure head once again.

Crystal gasped in a breath as her body became cold and the darkness swept over her head; she sucked in one last breath before it completely covered her. Crystal began to panic as her body wouldn't move, and her body became so cold it hurt, all the way to her bones. It felt as if her body was being torn apart slowly, she could feel her muscles ache and lose feeling; she couldn't feel her fingers anymore as she wiggled them. Her breaths became shallow as the air was sucked out of her and her lungs tried to gain any air they could. Crystal closed her eyes in panic as no sound, light, or anything passed through the darkness; it was as if her senses were cut off and nothing would get to her.

Ace watched in panic as the darkness swept over Crystal and encased her, trapping her in its grasp. Blackbeard laughed maniacally as he smiled in victory at the darkness; he curled his fingers towards himself as the darkness with Crystal in it followed over to him, like a dog abiding to its master. Whitebeard swung his bisento at Blackbeard making him jump away from the dark glob in the air. Ace shot at Blackbeard with his fire bullets, keeping him away from Crystal at all costs.

"Sabo!" Ace called over his shoulder to his brother. Sabo got up quickly as he ran to the glob and tried anyway he could to open up the darkness.

Sabo fell away as the darkness burned his hands with cold, making him stare at them in confusion then glare at the glob thinking of how much it must be hurting Crystal.

Crystal calmed her panicking body as she thought of something warm to counteract the cold.

_The power of light is one that can defeat any and all that try to harm another._ _The will to protect those around you and to keep them safe will give you the strength to call upon the light._

Crystal opened her eyes as her brother's voice rang through her head with a memory of a time when he first told her about Hikari No Tenshi. She thought of everyone on the crew, of what could happen to them if Blackbeard got them with his Black Hole. She thought of how much she wanted to protect Ace the day Blackbeard fought against them; she remembers how warm she felt once the darkness fell around them and she didn't want Ace to be taken away.

Crystal thought about how much she wanted to protect Ace, especially if her parents were going to come after her. Warmth tingled in Crystal's fingers as she imagined protecting everyone on the ship. Lily, Sabo, Whitebeard, Marco, the crew, and Thatch; she remembered when Blackbeard had stabbed Thatch and how scared she was, how it reminded her of her brother lying there in his blood.

Blackbeard laughed as darkness surrounded him and Crystal, blocking the others out and sending them flying away. Whitebeard desperately swung his bisento at Blackbeard, trying to get him away from Crystal, but couldn't get close enough without almost hitting Crystal in the process. Blackbeard slammed his hand on Whitebeard's chest as a ripping sensation raked the captain's body.

"Nothing can stop me!" Blackbeard laughed as Whitebeard's power began to seep out of his body.

Blackbeard froze as pain lanced through his body making him turn towards the source; his eyes widened as he stared at the dark blob in the air unmoving. He knew this is where the source was of his pain, but nothing was going on.

"Don't…" A voice rang out soft as water, but fierce as a tsunami. "…touch…my…father!"

The darkness exploded around Crystal and away from her as light enveloped her and flashed out across the ship sending Blackbeard flying over the edge. He floated into the air with wide eyes as he watched Crystal hover in the air wither her hair glowing around her, her eyes bright, and near invisible wings made of light shining behind her. Everyone watched as it looked like a light blue sundress, similar to the one she wore for her kingdom, appeared with the light. No one could deny that she looked like an angel right now as she landed with bare feet on the deck and walked gracefully in front of the others.

Crystal's feet didn't touch the deck as she pushed on the deck and lightly jumped into the air, before walking on the air towards Blackbeard.

"I will not allow you to touch those precious to me." Crystal said in a voice with no emotion.

Blackbeard stared with wide eyes into hers and saw the blank stare she was giving him, as if she was just a moving doll.

"She's doing this unconsciously!" Blackbeard yelled out incredulous to the power she was using. "There's no way! Her parent's said she isn't able to use it yet!"

Crystal's hand flowed upwards gently as she faced her palm towards the pirate of darkness. Light flashed around her hand before shooting towards Blackbeard and encasing him with the burning light. Crystal snapped her fingers as Blackbeard screamed in pain, making him disappear, leaving a clear sky in his place and all the darkness leave with him.

Crystal's hand fell to her side, as the wings and dress disappeared, and she closed her eyes before dropping. Ace rushed forward and jumped onto the railing as he reached his arm out and gently caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist. He pulled her close as he crouched down onto the railing with Crystal sitting on his knee.

Crystal groaned as she opened her eyes and stared into Ace's. "What happened?" She looked around at everyone as they ran forward to her. "Where did Blackbeard go? How did you defeat him?"

"You don't remember?" Sabo asked as Lily threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Remember what?" Crystal asked as she sat up and held her head. "My head is killing me!" Crystal shivered as she breathed out and her breath was chilled and frosted. She laid her head in the nape of Ace's neck as her body was swept with shivers and shaking. "It's s-s-s-so freaking c-c-c-c-c-c-c-cold!" Her teeth chattered as Ace wrapped his arms around her and picked her up.

Ace jumped off the railing and walked into the gathering area before sitting down and setting her in his lap. Lily came back with a blanket after setting Sabo down and wrapped Crystal in it before she leaned back against Ace and pulled her knees up to her chest hoping to get the warmth back into her.

"You really don't believe what just happened?" Marco asked her as she pushed into Ace's body farther and he heated his body.

Crystal shook her head as she looked around at everyone confused; she yawned as her head began to swim. "The last thing I remember is thinking about the story of Hikari No Tenshi that my brother told me when I was younger."

"The story of Hikari No Tenshi?" Marco asked.

"Also known as the story of Light and Dark." Lily said as she bandaged Sabo's arm and checked him over for any other injuries. "It's a story that was written on Ponelglyphs."

Everyone stared in confusion at Lily as she looked at Crystal who was trying not to fall asleep.

"A child of Light born into a family of Darkness." Crystal began as her shivering died down and she relaxed against Ace's warmth. "The child of light will be disowned by its family, but in its journey on its own there will be people who switch from the dark to the light." The crew began to settle as they listened to the story being told. "The child of light will have a hard life as the family of dark will try to destroy the light any way they can. The light will feel pain in all aspects, betrayal, jealousy, fear, cold, loneliness, and torment; but the light will also feel happiness, safety, joy, warmth, belonging, and love. The child will grow into a women as her awakening will arrive; the light will make allies and friends as it makes its journey to find its power. The darkness will begin to attack as the light comes closer to awakening; it will attack those close to the light, trying to take away everything the light has once again. The light will become stronger as it tries to protect those precious to it; in doing so the light will give up its life to become Hikari No Tenshi to protect the ones it holds precious. Becoming Hikari No Tenshi will destroy the darkness and change those in the darkness back to the light."

Crystal's voice faded as she neared the end of the story; her mind became fogged as exhaustion took over her body. "I feel so tired." Crystal rubbed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep leaving the others thinking about the story of Hikari No Tenshi.

"I wonder why she doesn't remember what she did." Thatch whispered to himself.

"I don't know," Sabo said looking at Crystal. "But I don't think we should bring it up. It may cause her more trouble." Sabo looked at Lily as he grabbed the bandages and wrapped them over Lily's injuries.

Thatch sighed as he looked at Crystal again before standing up and stretching his arms up. "It's late anyways. We should be going to bed."

"What are we going to do about the bed arrangements?" Jozu asked Whitebeard.

"Ace and Crystal will share a room, since she walks into his room every night anyways. Sabo and Lily can share a room until we find better arrangements." Marco told them as he let out a yawn and ran his hand through his hair.

Ace picked Crystal up as he carried her sleeping body to his room; he laid her down on the bed before walking over to his closet and taking off his boots, hat, accessories, belt, and dagger. He walked over to the bed and quietly slid in next to Crystal as his mind began to wander throughout what happened today. His mind stopped wandering as Crystal crawled over to him and laid her head down in the nape of his neck and pressed her body against his side as one of her legs draped over his. He smiled as he remembered his success in finally getting the girl he wanted; he wrapped his arm around her waist as he turned his head to lie on top of hers. He let sleep take him as he felt her breathing on his neck and her body temperature rise back to normal.

Crystal woke up with a groan as sleep cleared from her mind; she felt warm skin below her hand and against her body. She lifted her head as she looked up into the face of a sleeping Ace; she felt his arm around her making her blush and her heart quicken. She wiggled out of Ace's grasp and walked into the bathroom; she started the shower and let the hot water beat down on her muscles as the warmth relaxed her body and made her wake up.

Crashing sounded outside making Crystal jump and look around quickly. She grabbed a towel and held it up, groaning, as she realized it was a man's towel.

Ace jumped in bed as a crash was heard out on the deck; he looked around to find Crystal gone and jumped out of bed and ran outside to find a Marine ship sailing next to theirs. He glared as he watched Marine's board their ship and more of his crewmate's come out of their rooms. The pirate's charge towards the Marine's and begin to fight as the Marine's defend themselves against the growing crowd. Every Whitebeard pirate had someone to fight as a man with short brown hair, grey eyes, and a big build walks onto their deck with Boris.

Pirates and Marine's both stop as they stare at the two standing before all of them and watching with a bored look.

"You led them here?!" Marco yelled as his anger flared so early in the morning.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Crystal yelled coming out of a doorway leading from the hallway to the outside.

Everyone turned and froze as noses bleed from the sight before them; Crystal had walked out with a two men's towel's covering her. One was wrapped around her waist and barely covered her butt as it hung low on her hips; the other was folded in half and wrapped around her chest as cleavage galore showed out of the towel. Water dripped off her hair and ran down her body as she rested her hands on her hips and looked around at everyone. Her eyes rested on the two standing before everyone and she let out a huff before crossing her arms and staring at the two with a tired look.

"Oh~ Look at this beautiful goddess standing before me~" The man next to Boris cooed as his eyes turned to hearts. "This can't be the same Crystal can it? Long silky hair, soft plush lips, long smooth legs, a firm, round butt, slender waist, skin so irresistible to touch…" He began as he walked calmly towards Crystal.

"Shut up." Crystal groaned as she walked away from the man and towards the others.

"And such a soft, volumous chest!" He finished as he rushed up behind Crystal and grabbed her chest in both hands.

Crystal's vein in her forehead twitch as her fist shook. "Why you…" She growled out. "Pervert!"

She hit him on the head as fire enflamed his behind causing him to run around trying to put it out.

"Boris, why did you bring him here?" Crystal asked the doctor as he walked up to her.

"He was my ride. I did all I could in the kingdom and thought I could get Whitebeard to let me join and become the Whitebeard Pirate's doctor. He just happened to find me and give me a ride to the ship." Boris said ruffling her hair. "You're going to catch a cold if you walk around with wet hair."

"It's your fault!" Crystal argued as she groaned again. "Takeshi! Leave, now!"

"Aw~" Takeshi whined as he wrapped his arms around Crystals leg and rubbed his cheek on it. "Why do I have to leave, when I just met the Goddess once again?"

"Stop calling me that!" Crystal told him as she kicked him in the stomach pushing him away. "You're a Marine! I'm a Pirate! Of course I don't want you here! You're little Marine crew is fighting my family!"

"Your family started it." Takeshi pouted as he sat cross legged on the deck. "We were just standing there about to let Boris on and ask to see you when they just charged us."

Crystal turned to her family and saw the guilty looks on their faces as they stepped away from the Marine's and put their weapons down from attacking. Crystal sighed as she shook her head at the Pirates.

"Geez, all of you and the need to fight!" Crystal complained.  
Takeshi began to reach out towards Crystal again with perverted thoughts going through his head and showing on his face. Crystal looked down at him in surprise as Lily came out of the hallway doorframe and knocked him into the wall.

"Sorry," She said sarcastically, "it was an accident. Crystal you need to get dressed before this pervert decides to do anything else."

Crystal nodded as she walked to the doorframe and looked at Takeshi sitting there. "Don't do ANYTHING while I'm gone. Got it?"

Takeshi nodded as he smiled watching Crystal's butt as she walked. He shook his head in admiration as he looked at her crewmates. "How do you control yourselves? To have such a girl on your ship and not do anything to her? That's determination."

The men smirked as they agreed with him. "The one who has the most control here is Ace. He's had to control himself since he was nine years old."

Takeshi looked over at Ace as he yelled at the crew to stop joking around while a blush appeared on his face.

"Yeah, especially now that they both know each other's feelings and made a contract with each other!" The crewmate covered his mouth quickly as he realized what he said in front of his enemy.

"They made a contract?" Takeshi asked astonished. "I never thought she would make one with how dangerous it could be." Takeshi smirked as he stood up and walked to Ace. They sized each other up as they straightened their backs and stared hard at each other. "How do you control yourself from touching her soft skin? From doing anything imaginable to her? She's like a drug you can't get rid of."

"I don't," Ace told him plainly.

Takeshi looked at him confused as Crystal came outside once again in her regular outfit.

"Watch," Ace whispered to him.

Ace reached out around Takeshi as he pulled Crystal close, wrapping his arms around her waist, hooking his thumbs in her shorts, and laying his head down on top of hers before smirking at Takeshi evilly and victoriously. Takeshi's jaw dropped in incredulity at seeing Crystal allowing someone to touch her so easily and freely.

"Why?" Takeshi whined as he began to cry. "Why does my goddess allow such a man to touch her and not let me?"

"Because I don't like you." Crystal told him blankly. Takeshi fell over at the answer and regained his composure as he grabbed Crystal's hand.

"Won't you reconsider joining the Marine's?" Takeshi asked her with a pleading pout. "I wouldn't be able to live if I knew my goddess was with some other man, letting him touch her so freely!"

"Stop it, Takeshi." Crystal told him irritated. Crystal pulled Ace's arms away as she walked up to Takeshi. "The Marine's wouldn't let me in anyway. Not now that they know who my parents are, what I did at Marineford, and how dangerous they know my power is." She watched as the lose registered on Takeshi's face. "Beside's I told you that I don't feel that way about you. I told you long ago, when I first met you, how I already was in love with someone."

"I figured he was the man you were talking about." Takeshi grumbled as he composed himself once again. He looked up at Ace fiercely as he sized him up once again. "Just know, Fire Fist Ace, that if Crystal is harmed in any way by you, I will kill you myself."

Crystal rolled her eyes as she pushed Takeshi towards his Marine's and waved them off as Boris walked over to Crystal.

"So…" Boris said whistling.

"Come on," Crystal said sighing with a smile.

Crystal twined her fingers in Ace's as she tugged him along with them towards Whitebeard's room, waiting to hear his answer for the new hopeful doctor.

"With how much my family gets hurt, we'll need another doctor on this ship!" Whitebeard laughed as he looked at Ace and Crystal so close. "Plus we'll need a doctor for when grandchildren come!"

Crystal blushed hard as she yelled at her father to stop saying things like that; Whitebeard laughed as he watched his daughter and son blush furiously in embarrassment and Boris go along with Whitebeard in his little joke.

Crystal gave up as she walked back outside and looked for something to do; Marco walked over as he held his chin and looked Crystal up and down.

"You know, Takeshi was right." Marco said making Crystal tilt her head in confusion. "You do have looks that most women can't get in their whole lives."

"Uh, thanks?" Crystal asks looking around.

Marco sticks his tongue out as he drapes an arm around her shoulders. "So, you and Ace? Anything yet?" Crystal looked at him in surprise as her face reddened. "After all, you did come out in a fresh towel and wet hair. Are you trying to hide something?"

"What?" Crystal shouts to him. "What are you talking about?!"

Marco smirked at her mischievously making her watch him suspiciously. Crystal finally caught on as he continued to stare at her with his tongue sticking out. "No!" Crystal yelled smacking his arm repeatedly as her face flushed.

Marco laughed as he held up his hands in surrender before putting them behind his head and walking off. Crystal felt an arm go around her waist making her stop her ranting at the familiar touch.

"You know he does this just to get those reactions out of you." Ace laughed next to her ear. Crystal blushed as she nodded her head. Ace looked down at her and smirked as he got his other arm and turned her around before pulling her close with his arms around her waist and putting his forehead on her. "You okay?"

"Stop teasing me!" She whined as her face reddened even more. "I'm…I'm just not used to this yet."

Ace smirked playing dumb as he watches her face redden. "Used to what? Being close? You and me were already close."

"Being THIS close." Crystal mumbled. "And to know that you felt the same. I-it's not something I'm used to yet. I always thought it was one sided."

Ace's smirk disappeared as he understood what she was talking about; it was going to be harder for her than it was for him. He had always had women fawning over him and a lot of one night stands, but Crystal never liked it when guys fawned over her, she always went to him when they did. He dealt with his feelings for her by relishing in the moments she was close and imagining her in other women, there was no way for her to deal with it.

"I understand," Ace tells her with a smile. Crystal looks up at him as her blush fades and she sees that he's telling the truth. "I guess I'll just have to teach you." Ace smirked at her as she rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead.

"You're such a pervert." Crystal told him.

"Look at the love birds." Sabo said walking up with Lily.

"Aw don't be jealous Sabo," Crystal said teasingly.

"Just because you and Lily still won't get together." Ace chided in.

"After all, now me and Ace could do this." Crystal told Sabo as she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face close to his; the inched towards each other slowly as they closed their eyes and waited. They peeked their eyes slightly open and looked at Lily and Sabo as their faces were deep red from watching the scene. Crystal and Ace smiled at each other as they busted up laughing at their two friends.

"And you call my teasing mean." Marco said. They looked over and froze seeing most of the crew standing there watching them.

"Wow, didn't know we had so many peepers on the ship." Ace said lifting an eyebrow at them.

"We were just seeing if Crystal would actually do it." Thatch said shrugging his shoulders. "I guess you have to teach her that too."

Crystal shook her head at them as she looked up at Ace and pecked him on the lips quickly before dropping her arms and looking at the crew smugly.

"Trust me on one thing," Crystal told them smirking at them, "I know how to kiss." She winked at them making them all flush and turn away embarrassed. "So easy," Crystal whispered to Ace as they chuckled at their crewmates. Crystal backed away from Ace as she walked over to Sabo and Lily.

"What?" Sabo asked suspicious.

Crystal shrugged as she smiled and looked at Lily. "You know, sometime's girls need to make the first move." Crystal laughed as she watched Lily blush and she looked up at the sky.

Crystal knew life was back to normal as the crew was finally relaxed after Marineford, she had Sabo back in her family, Ace and Whitebeard were safe, and she knew Luffy was out there getting his family back.

Two weeks passed as Ace got Crystal used to being closer, Sabo, Lily, and Boris fully became a part of their family with Whitebeard's tattoo, and Whitebeard's health was regaining.

"Land!" Ace yelled from the crow's nest as he set the binoculars down.

Crystal looked up from talking to her father as she smiled and ran over to a rope hanging; she tugged on the rope as it unwound from a hook and pulled her upward towards the crow's nest. She set her hand on his shoulder as she looked out into the ocean and spotted the black blob in the background that was steadily growing and showed a small island with mountains and a rain forest.

"So pretty," Crystal said mesmerized. "It reminds me of the forests we always ran around in."

"Come on," Ace said smiling. He grabbed crystal's hand as he pulled her over to the side of the crow's nest, and wrapped his arm around her. He grabbed the rope she came up on and wound it around his hand before wrapping his foot lower to brace himself; they flew down to the bottom as Ace wound the rope around the hook again and made the rope fly around the mast to the railing.

"It's a small island, but there's smoke so there is civilization there." Crystal told Whitebeard with a smile.

"Good, were running out of supplies." Thatch told them as he scratched his head.

"Maybe there will be some girls there." Marco said pushing his eyebrows up.

Crystal shook her head as she rolled her eyes and grabbed Lily's hand. "Come on, let's go wait on the figure head."

Crystal and Lily stood on the figurehead as the island near and the crew scrambled behind them to get ready for port.

"What's that?" Crystal asked as she squinted her eyes. Crystal turned her body and waved at the crew to get their attention. "Stop the ship!"

The crew looked at her confused until they could see what she had seen. They slowed the ship down quickly until it stopped in front of a wall standing before the island.

"What is this thing?" Marco asked as he walked up next to Crystal. He reached out his hand towards the wall and laid it on the strange markings covering it.

Crystal felt a gust of wind fly by her as she stared at the wall as it hummed and went away quickly. She turned her head with wide eyes as Marco rubbed his head in pain from hitting the wall to the cabins.

"What the hell?" Crystal asked.

"These markings," Lily said as she walked up in front of it. "Sabo!" Sabo walked up as he looked at her questioningly. "Don't these markings look like the ones they gave us in our training to learn how to unlock things?"

Sabo looked at them analyzing them carefully as he looked at her and nodded. "Chairo," Sabo called out as a brown dragon silhouette wrapped around him.

"Dai," Lily said at the same time as a orange dragon silhouette wrapped around her also.

They looked at each other before nodding and placing their hands on the wall; the wall hummed again as it glowed slightly and a blue light formed into tentacles before lashing out at Sabo and Lily and throwing them into the wall next to Marco. The tentacles disappeared back into the wall as Crystal stared at it in fascination.

Crystal looked at the wall as the symbols began to move and turn into words, then paragraphs, then into stories. "The story of Hikari No Tenshi."  
"What are you talking about?" Lily asked as she stood up.

"Don't you see it?" Crystal asked looking at them confused and pointing up at the wall.

Lily shook her head as she quirked an eyebrow and stared at Crystal. "All I see is symbols."

Crystal looked back to the wall as the words began to move again and formed back into the symbols. Crystal furrowed her eyebrows in irritation as she reached her hand out toward the wall feeling a magnetic pull towards it.

"Crystal! Are you crazy?!" Sabo asked grabbing her hand and pulling it away from the wall. "You saw what it does!"

Crystal looked away from the wall hesitantly as the pull continued. "But, it feels familiar."

"What do you mean?" Ace asked hoping onto the figure head and watched as Crystal's gaze traveled back to the wall almost mesmerized by it.

"I…don't know." Crystal told them furrowing her eyebrows again. "It's like I've felt this power before."

Crystal reached out her hand once again towards the wall. "Crystal! Seriously!" Sabo argued as he grabbed her wrist again.

"Please, let me." Crystal begged with her eyes still on the wall.

Sabo looked at her confused, but let her hand go as she continued to reach out to the wall. She placed her hand on the wall gently making the wall hum and glow again. The tentacles flash out of the wall and wrap around Crystal quickly; Ace rushes forward quickly to get her out, but is stopped by Sabo as his hand hit Ace's chest. Ace looked up and saw how the tentacles weren't hurting her; the appendages loosened around Crystal's arm and wound around her body in a barrier as others came out and joined it. The floated around her as one reached out and touched her necklace making it glow brightly; the tentacles retreated back into the wall as the symbols glowed brightly from her hand and up to the top like waves.

The wall creaked as it began to move and broke vines and tree's as it moved inward. Everyone watched in astonishment as Crystal's hand moved back to her side and the wall stopped moving to reveal a town behind it with people…no women…standing behind it.

Hundreds of women stood there in shock staring at them with weapons in their hands as they watched the new people arrive to their island. They searched the pirates on the ship for violence until one pair of eyes landed on Crystal making her gasp and make others look. Murmurs and gasps filled the area as eyes slowly landed on the girl on the figure head.

"It's Hikari no Tenshi!" She heard one of them say and others add in similar gasps and murmurs.

Crystal walked carefully off the ship as she landed on the ground gently making the woman put down their weapons and hush. Ace dropped down next to her as he stood up straight and looked at all of them; Sabo, Marco, and Thatch did the same as Lily thumped onto the ground and walked up next to her. The women put up their weapons seeing Ace drop down and became tense with every man that came down.

"An island full of women," Marco said staring at all the women in clothes that only covered their chests and lower parts, "this is much more than I hoped for."

Crystal punched his arm making him laugh as the women angrily murmured to each other. Crystal walked forward holding out her hands tentatively not wanting to make them angry or scared. The women froze once again as they watched her approach them and dropped their weapons quickly as they bowed on the floor in front of her.

"Hey," Crystal said tentatively. "Please, don't do that."

The woman at the front looked up as Crystal held out her hand to them.

"Please? I don't know why you all are doing this, but I don't want to be treated like I'm higher than any of you, I'm the same as all of you." Crystal told them with a smile.

"We didn't mean to offend you Tenshi," The woman said standing up.

"Crystal," she told them as she shook her head. "You didn't offend me. I just don't want you to bow to me."

The others stood up as Lily and the guys followed up towards Crystal again; the women grabbed their weapons and pointed it toward the guys as they glared at them.

"Hey! It's okay!" Crystal yelled frantically, putting herself in front of Ace. "They're friends! They're all friends!"

The women looked from Crystal to Ace as they hesitantly put down their weapons. Crystal's attention changed as a flash of yellow shot by at the back of the group, along with the familiar power feeling once again.

A hand grabbed Crystal's as her attention was brought back to them and she looked down to find a little girl hanging onto her.

"You look like the Tenshi!" The little girl said. "You know, from the story Hikari No Tenshi! We were always told that story! You're really pretty!"

"Thank you," Crystal said smiling. She looked up at the leader once again as she waved her hand to the ship. "Do you have some supplies we can get here?"

"Yes, we have lots of supplies." The woman answered as she looked hesitantly at the ship.

"It's okay, really. This is my family and friends." Crystal told her as she grabs Ace's hand. "See? They won't hurt anyone."

The woman looked at Crystal before smiling and nodding her head. "Would you like to come in and rest?"

"Yes please, thank you." Crystal said as she followed the woman with Ace and the little girl in tow.

"We have some clothes you and your friend may put on." The woman said addressing Lily with Crystal.

They shrugged their shoulders as they followed the woman into a room and changed into their local clothes.

"These women don't like men very much," Sabo said looking at the women watching them with hesitancy.

"I don't care," Marco said as he smirked and looked the women up and down. "Just watching them is enough."

"You might want to be careful on what you say," A voice said coming from behind them.

The boys turned and their jaws dropped as they watched Crystal come out in a small wrap over her chest as if they grabbed a piece of fabric, twisted it in the middle, and wrapped it around the middle of her chest, with a small slanted skirt wrap that reach below her hip on one leg and ended about mid-thigh on the other. The outfit showed her legs, hips, stomach, cleavage and shoulders as she stood there with a smile slightly bent over with her hands on her knees. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders as it blew gently and her necklace floated in the air, held by her silver chain.

"Where's Lily?" Sabo asked looking around as he snapped out of it.

Crystal paused as she looked confused, but came back as she smiled and looked at them. "Oh! She's getting ready still."

Ace looked at Crystal up and down wanting to look at her new outfit and the showing skin and cleavage. Ace furrowed his brows as he looked her up and down again; her hips were wider, her thighs were bigger, and her chest was smaller as he looked closer. When he really looked, he saw how her eyes were a dark blue, and her hair was slightly darker; but what he noticed most was that she wasn't wearing her ribbon like she always did.

"Who are you?" Ace asked as he stood up and stared at her hard.

"Ace? What are you talking about? It's Crystal." Marco said quirking an eyebrow in question.

"Ace, are you feeling okay?" Crystal asked him as she looked at him gently.

Ace shrugged his shoulders as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist and put his face close. "I don't know."

Crystal jumped away from Ace as she pushed him and glared at him in anger. "What do you think you're doing?!" Crystal yelled at him angrily.

Ace took a step towards her making her step back and bump into Marco's chest. Marco wrapped his arms around her arms holding her in place as she struggles against his hold; she bites his arm making him let go and her to jump away from all of them with heavy breathing.

"Sabo, what's going on?" Lily asked appearing in a green halter top cut off below her chest and a straight green skirt that ends mid-thigh. Lily freezes as she see's Crystal standing there glaring at all of them.

Sabo holds out his arm in front of her as he holds a hand on her lower back keeping her in place from going to the girl. "Don't go to her. It's an imposter."

"Sakura?" Crystal whispered behind them, but loud enough for all of them to hear. Everyone turned around quickly seeing another Crystal behind them in the same outfit.

Ace looked carefully and inched towards her as he saw the slight details that he found in the other. Her thighs were smaller and more toned, her hips were slender, her chest was much bigger, her eyes a light blue, and her hair a golden yellow; he looked quickly at how her hair even fell the same way around her shoulders, but saw the black ribbon he got her tied on her wrist.

"Are you okay?" Ace asked her as he grabbed her hand.

She looked at him momentarily as she nodded her head and looked at the imposter. "Sakura?" She asked again as she stared at the girl.

The imposter relaxed as she looked past everyone and at Crystal; tears sprang to her eyes as she held her hands to her mouth. "Crystal…Crystal!"

The girl launched herself at Crystal wrapping her arms around her neck and crying into her shoulder.

"You are here! It really is you!" The girl cried.

Everyone watched in surprise/horror as Crystal wrapped her arms around the girls back and held her close as her eyes watered at the corners.

"Crystal?" Ace asked watching them beside him.

Crystal lets go of the girl as the imposter quits crying and rubs her eyes as she hangs onto Crystal's hand and keeps close to her side, huddling.

"Everyone, this is my twin sister Sakura." Crystal told them as she nodded to her sister.

"I thought your siblings were supposed to be dead." Ace said looking at the two sisters.

"That's what I thought." Crystal said looking to Sakura. "How?"

Sakura opened her mouth and closed it as she rubbed her neck. "You."

Crystal lifted her eyebrows telling Sakura to continue on. "What about me?"

"You saved us. Takeru said he remembers hearing you scream, and that you lost control of your power since you were so scared. Your power went into all of us and healed us; but by the time we woke up you were gone and nowhere to be found." Sakura explained looking Crystal in the eye with an apologetic look. "We looked for you for a long time, and then Takeru got an idea to check with the Marine's and he found Garp taking you away from the Marine base and to an island."

"Why didn't you come get me?" Crystal asked, hurt plain on her voice. "You're saying all of you are alive, and you never once told me?" Crystal pulled her hand out of her sisters as she walked backwards toward Ace.

"Crystal," Sakura said reaching out for her sister, but stopped as Crystal back up farther into Ace's body and arms. "It's more complicated than that."  
"What can be so complicated that you wouldn't tell your sister, who thought you were dead, that you were actually alive?" Crystal retaliated.

"Two years after we found you, we would have been nine, our parents found out we were alive and came after us again." Sakura said watching Crystal. She watched Crystal's eyes widen in horror as scenario's popped into her head. "Crystal…they took Takeru and Shichiro. Something happened to Shichiro to make him WANT to go to their side, but Takeru…he…they're controlling him. They're going to use them to kill you."

Crystal's breath was sucked out of her as she stared off into space towards her sister as the world around her lost all its sound.


	22. Trouble in Paradise?

All rights pertaining to the characters and plot of One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda-sensei. All OC characters rights go to me and my creative, over active imagination.

Thanks for all those who are reading my story! I update as much as I can on fanfiction and quizilla! I'll try and update as much as I can, but I still have school after all!

Feel free to message me any time you want!

* * *

It took several minutes until Crystal could once again breathe as everyone stared in shock at what her twin had said.

"T-they wouldn't do that!" Crystal shouted angrily.

Sakura looked down at the ground sad and guilty at what she shouldn't have told her sister. "I know it may seem like I'm lying! But I'm not!"

"Takeru would never hurt me or you! You know that!" Crystal shouted, her eyes flashing red with fury.

Sakura flinched from her sister's eyes as she has never had them directed towards her before. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say as Crystal's eyes struck down into her with fury. Sakura and Crystal have always been able to feel each other, how they felt, if they were hurt, if they were having trouble with their dragon, anything! But now Sakura felt as if the connection she had to her sister was blocked.

Crystal felt the hurt from her sister and took in a deep breath before turning her eyes back to the light blue and stared at her sister with soft eyes. "Okay, explain."

Sakura looked up at her sister and relaxed as she began to explain. "We both know Takeru wouldn't do anything to you to hurt you. But right now Takeru isn't Takeru." Crystal looked at Sakura confused. "Our parents…"

"Don't!" Crystal said holding up her hand. "Those two aren't my parents! Whitebeard is my only father! I can forgive mom if she ever returns to us like she was before, but not HIM."

Sakura nodded her head understanding what I was saying. "They captured Takeru and Shichiro and brainwashed them into thinking you were the enemy. Takeru struggled against them for the longest time and even got me and Mamoru out of their hold, but in the process they got him again and began to torture him until his dragon came out to help." Crystal began to shake as she imagined what they did to her brother. "They took Aoi and made her do what they said, and if she didn't they would kill Takeru, which would kill her in the process. They made her forcefully take over Takeru, so now he and Shichiro are after you, waiting for their word to kill you."

Crystal began to shake as Ace walked over and put his arm under her elbow to keep her up. Crystal's fury built up in her once again, but this time towards her parents for taking her older brothers. Ace watched as his necklace lit up with her anger.

"Ace's necklace is tripping out again," Marco said looking from the necklace to Crystal.

Crystal ignored him as she tried to calm down. Marco walked over and started to reach for the necklace to look at it until a hand came up and stopped him by covering his hand with theirs. Marco looked over to Sakura, who was now standing next to him, and watched as she shook her head and walked to Crystal.

"Crystal, you have to calm down." Sakura told her as she motioned her hands as if she was pushing the air to the floor.

Crystal nodded as she slipped her hand into Ace's and looked at her sister. "I can't believe they would push it this far."

"They would do anything to get you Crystal," Sakura said sadly. "Because you're so strong."

"You're strong too," Crystal told her as she grabbed her sister's hand with her free one. "Daddy," Crystal said diverting her attention to her father. "I need a favor from you."

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow to her as he thought about if he should comply or not.

"I need to find my little brother Mamoru. We need to find him before those people do." Crystal told him begging him with her eyes to allow her to do so.

Whitebeard smiled as he laughed gruffly and looked down at her. "Of course!"

Crystal smiled as she looked at Sakura and laughed at the expression her sister was giving the large man. Crystal brightened up once again as she looked at everyone that had joined her laughing against her sister. "I know, he can be kind of intimidating."

"All of you can," Sakura said before covering her mouth and blushing at what had slipped out of her head. "Sorry,"

Marco shook his head as he walked over and draped his arm around her shoulders with a smirk. "I know, we intimidate all the girls. Then we show them how nice we can really be."

Sakura looked at him bewildered before looking at Crystal and watched her shake her head at her crewmate. She watched as Crystal began to walk off with a small wave. "Ah! Crystal, wait!"

"They won't eat you...hopefully." Crystal added in with a playful smile.

Sakura shook her head as she looked at her sister. "Takeru wanted me to tell you something." Crystal listened to her sister intently. "He said 'No matter what, you must not awaken Hikari No Tenshi.'"

Crystal wanted to argue, but knew that it was no use as her sister was only relaying a message. "What does my stupid brother expect me to do then?" She shook her head as she watched Sakura shrug indignantly. "Marco, can you take my sister back to the ship please? Thatch, I'll help you find supplies again, make sure we have enough for our long trip. Daddy," She stopped looking at her father expectantly knowing she was asking for a lot. "I know I have asked you for so much already. Bringing Boris, Sabo, and Lily aboard your ship; helping me find my brother; and now I have to ask you to allow my sister to come aboard your ship also."

Whitebeard smirked at her as he shook his head. "I'm glad, you never asked for anything before. It's good you finally are asking me for something."

"Well, maybe I'll be more selfish in the future." Crystal told him with a smirk. "Come on Thatch."

"I'll help," Ace said grabbing her hand and smiling down at her.

The women walked up and watched Ace with patronizing eyes and stopped once they reached their entwined hands. "Who are you to be able to touch the angel?"

Crystal held up her other hand showing there isn't any harm; she stepped closer to Ace and wrapped her hand through his arm. "He's fine! Really, he's going to help us carry the supplies."

"We will help the angel," The woman argued back. "Men should not be able to touch the angel."  
"It's alright!" Crystal said with a small laugh.

She looked at Crystal confused, trying to understand what she was trying to tell them. "What relationship do you have with this man? The other's you treat like family. The boss man is your father, the cook, top hat man, and pineapple head," Marco frowned at her analization, "you treat like your brothers, while you treat the other girl like your sister along with Sakura. What is this man to you?"

Crystal blushed as she started to rub her neck in embarrassment. "Well, he's…he's…" The women, along with the Whitebeard pirates listened intently for her answer. Crystal blushed extremely as she felt all eyes on her; she mumbled out an answer making the woman lean closer.

"What?"  
She said it louder, but still inaudible to everyone else.

"Say again?"

She blushed even more (if possible) and said it louder, but everyone only heard a slight grumble compared to the words they should have heard.

"Come on angel, we can't hear you." Marco taunted, making Sakura punch his arm and him laugh.

It didn't help Crystal when the women leaned in closer hoping to get the answer out of her loud enough this time. "HE'S MY BOYFRIEND!" Crystal shouted looking at the ground in embarrassment.

Thatch chuckled as he watched Crystal and nudged her shoulder with his palm. Crystal looked up to find Ace gawking at her with a blush plainly on his face, he composed himself as he played a soft smile and looked at Crystal proudly.

"Okay, lover-boy, enough with the googly eyes." Thatch said punching Ace in the shoulder. "You've got to do the heavy lifting."

The two men stared at the women with questioning eyes; they let them pass with a sigh as Crystal thanked them and followed after the guys. The crew chuckled and finished their teasing before heading to the ship like Crystal told them too.

"Hey pops!" Marco said as everyone sat on the deck of the ship, waiting for Crystal, Ace, and Thatch to get back from shopping. "Why do you let Crystal just boss you around?"

Whitebeard looks at him with a raised eyebrow as the nurses hooked him up once again to his machinery. "Because she's strong."  
Sabo let out a short laugh as he leaned against the wall. "Yeah, I think we can all see that."

Whitebeard laughed as he looked at all his men. "I don't want you to treat Crystal any different than you are now."

"Why would we treat her differently? It's not like she's suppose to be our captain." Jozu said jokingly, but stopped once he saw Whitebeard wasn't laughing with them.

"No way!" Vista said looking at Whitebeard incredulously. "Why?!"

"I chose Crystal to be my replacement if anything were to happen to me." Whitebeard explained taking a deep breath and leaning back. "When she came back again with Ace, and I saw how much her powers had grown and developed, I knew I had to talk to her about it. I asked her if she would be willing to secretly be my co-captain, and then one day become captain when I pass."  
"So she just took it?!" Marco asked angrily.

"This is what he meant." Sakura said crossing her arms as she came out of the room dressed in denim capris, with a gold chained belt that hung down her leg, and a purple tanktop with black sandals. She sighed when he stared at her confused. "You haven't even heard the full explanation and you're already treating her differently."

"She's right, this is why I didn't want to tell you." Whitebeard said narrowing his eyes a bit. "All of you already treat her differently now that you know who her parents are."

"But she took the position!" Vista argued with Marco.

"After she put a great fight," Whitebeard said angrily making everyone shut up. "She argued with me for a long time, until I finally got her to take the position. It took me about two weeks to get her to take the position."

"What are you guys talking about?" Crystal asked hopping over the edge of the ship.

"How you're co-captain." Marco said glancing at her momentarily.

Crystal froze as she looked at everyone with surprised and guilt. She looked at Ace and Thatch and saw they were staring at her with confusion.

"You're co-captain?" Thatch asked making Crystal look at the floor guiltily again. "That's awesome!"

Crystal looked up surprised with everyone else on the ship. "You're not mad?"

Thatch let out a quick laugh before walking over and ruffling her hair. "Why would I be mad? If Whitebeard chose you to be co-captain, he must have known you'd be strong enough to handle it."

The crew realized what Thatch had said was right once they thought about it.

"I don't mind," Lily said walking up and taking some of the bags and boxes Crystal held. "Besides, Crystal is already our kingdom's ruler, if she's capable of that, then she's capable of being a captain."

"Co-captain," Marco grunted out.

Sakura glared at him as she punched him over the head roughly. "Shut up! Or I swear I will hurt you!"

Marco stared at Sakura with surprise as he stuck his tongue out at her and smirked. "Oh, is the little kitten getting mad?"

Sakura and Crystal began to twitch as they looked at each other before looking at Marco again and kicking him across the floor. "You know, sometimes you can be a huge douche-bag." Sakura told him.

Marco stared at them and realized how much alike they were. "Oh am I?"

"Yes, you are," They both said at the same time.

"Give it up," Thatch told Marco. "You're just mad, because a girl, younger than you is in a higher rank."

Marco pouted by the wall as the other's decided to help them load the supplies onto the ship. Ace smirked as he wrapped her arm around her waist. "So I'm not only going out with a princess, an angel, and the most wanted person on earth, but also my captain? Wow I feel special."

"You should," Crystal told him with a smirk. "After all, I could have chosen anyone else."

Ace pouted as he looked down at her; he shook his head as he listened to Crystal laugh. Wind blew as his hair flew into his face, making him grumble.

"I think you need a haircut." Crystal said gently pushing his hair out of his eyes. "How 'bout it?"  
Ace smiled as he grabbed her hand and kissed her palm making her heart race, her body heat up, and her body to react to his touch. Ace smirked as if he knew what she was feeling, and slowly let go of her hand, letting his touch trace patterns along her skin. Crystal pulled her hand into her chest as she walked into the ship to grab a chair; as she came back out she found a couple of the women on their ship bringing up the last of the supplies.

"I'm sorry, did we disrupt something?" Crystal asked.

"No, we wish to bid you farewell." The leader said as she bowed down to Crystal.

"Please…" Crystal began to say to them.

"We know, don't do that. We are just doing so to say goodbye." She told them with a smile. "Please take care of Hikari No Tenshi, her life is worth more than anyone can imagine. Tenshi, please know that if you ever need us, just call for our help."

Crystal smiled as the leader held out her hand; Crystal grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug making them stare in amazement. She soon smiled and hugged back. "I will, thank you. For so much."

They bid the island and its residence farewell before sailing off with waves. Crystal placed the chair in the middle of the deck before grabbing Ace's arm and sitting him down. She began to work on his hair, slightly cutting of the ends and thinning it out a bit. She circled around him until she reached his bangs and had to place one of her legs in between his.

Ace reached out his hand and poked her in the stomach making her giggle and smack his hand away. "Stop that! You're going to make me mess up." Crystal told him with a laugh.

"It would improve his looks!" Thatch said pulling Crystal into a hug by her shoulders. He hung onto her as he ruffled her hair and looked down. "So you going to help me with dinner?"

"Nope, she's doing my hair next!" Sakura said with a smile.

"Then mine!" Lily pitched in at the same time as Sabo.

Other's joined in line as they wanted a haircut to look better. Thatch laughed as he pressed his cheek to her head and let her go. "Oh, well, I guess I'll have to steal you sooner next time."

Crystal watched him with a smile, not noticing the jealousy rising in Ace as he watched the scene literally right in front of him. Crystal looked back at Ace as his arms went around her waist and he laid his head on her stomach. "What's wrong?" She looked down at him as she brushed away the hair on his neck and back with her fingers, causing him to shiver.

Ace looked up at her before leaning back and shaking his head. "Nothing,"

Crystal looked at him questioningly before shrugging her shoulders and finishing up with his hair. She placed her knee on the edge of the seat as she leaned forward and looked into his face. "Are you sure you're okay? Are you feeling sick? Tired? Hungry?"

"Yeah," Is all Ace said, making her think he was answering to being hungry.

"Well, it's good food is on the way then!" She smiled as she brushed off the rest of the hair and looked at him. She reached her hand forward and ran her hand through his hair; her other hand joined it as she played with his hair and held it back from his face. "I've always wondered what you would look like with shorter hair. I'm glad you keep it shaggy."

Ace grabbed her wrist before standing up and walking to the kitchen; Crystal watched him leave with worry and confusion on her face, but didn't have much time to think about it as Sakura plopped into the chair and smiled at her sister. "I want it short!"

Crystal stared wide eyed at her sister, before chuckling and getting to work. She cut off her sister's hair until it hit the middle of her neck and looked like an edgy bob. One by one the crew came to Crystal for a haircut; some wanted a lot off, the other's just a trim, but no matter how many came, Crystal couldn't help but be worried for Ace and wonder what is wrong with him.

Ace sat on the kitchen stool watching Thatch cook and trying to figure out what is going on between them. Thatch felt the stare on his back as he moved around the kitchen getting dinner ready; he turned around to face Ace head on, wanting to know why his crewmate was staring so intently at him.

"What's on your mind?" Thatch said lightheartedly.

"Nothing," Ace grunted out, turning his head from the cook.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it." Thatch said shrugging his shoulders. "If I had to guess though, I'd say it was about Crystal." He grinned when he saw Ace flinch and continued on. "You're a lucky guy to have her. She could have chosen any one of us, but she chose you."

"She can do better though." Ace said feeling guilty.

Thatch raised an eyebrow at Ace. "Maybe she could." Ace flinched from his answer and stared at the counter top. "After all, there are a lot of men out there who are willing to give her their whole lives."

"Thatch!" Crystal yelled running into the kitchen. "Tell Marco that he needs to stop being such a douche!"

Sakura and Lily walked in behind her as Sabo and Marco followed soon after. Marco hung his arm around Sakura's waist pulling her close as a smirk plays on his face. Thatch gave Marco a look as said pirate looked at him with a shrug and sticks out his tongue.

"I was just telling them how it's so much better now 'cause I won't confuse her with her bustier sister." Marco said nonchantaly.

Sakura punched him in the arm playfully as she let out a small laugh. Lily rolled her eyes as she flicked Sabo in the forehead and stuck her tongue out at him. Crystal laughed at her two companions before turning and smiling warmly at Ace; Ace looked at her quickly before turning his attention away from her. This time everyone noticed his behavior and stared at Crystal in wonder, only to have her watched him with hurt, before she recovered and plastered a smile on her face.

Days passed by as Ace watched Crystal and saw how much the others (the guys) tended to hang around Crystal and become close to her. What Ace needed was something to take his mind of the jealousy that kept building up in his chest.

Lucky for him a big distraction decided to make an entrance on their ship. Crystal looked up quickly feeling something, making her look around for the feeling she was getting, and making the others around her watch in question at what she was looking for.

"CRYSTAL!"

Crystal was thrown to the floor as a body hurled at her and slammed her down with its force. Crystal remembers seeing one thing that caught her eye…a strawhat…she knew very well who has tackled her even before she opened her eyes from the impact. Crystal opened her eyes only to have her suspicions justified by the boy with dark hair, brown eyes, scar, and a wide smile reaching from ear to ear.

"I should have known Luffy," Crystal said with a sigh.

Luffy got off of her with a smile as he hugged her once again. "I found my nakama!"

Crystal smiled as she felt happy for Luffy. "That's great!"

Luffy stood up as more people board the ship after him, groaning that he needed to stop flinging himself off the ship once he sees something. Crystal smiled warmly towards the new people as she spotted familiar faces.

"Nami!" Crystal said gleefully as she greeted the orange haired girl with a hug. "Chopper!" She picked up the reindeer as she rubbed her cheek against his and kissed his forehead in her normal greeting to him. "Usopp! Still going on great adventures?" Usopp held his head high with pride, but coward as Ace, Marco, Thatch and Sabo came out. Sanji swooned over Crystal making her roll her eyes and for Ace to sneer. "Hey Sanji, and…where's Mr. Grump?" Crystal looked around expectantly looking for the swordsman.

Ace glared as Zoro snuck up behind Crystal and laid his arm around her shoulder.  
"And you say weights don't help." He said.

Crystal smirked as she nudged her head to her hand that was holding one of his swords to his nether regions. He frowned before sighing and letting her go. "I never said they wouldn't help. I just said being a swordsman doesn't mean only becoming strong." Crystal turned to Luffy as others stared at the strange scene between her and the swordsman. "Sorry, he's just a sore loser because I beat him." She laughed as the others gave her a strange look of utter surprise. "So who are the new guys?"

"Robin," A girl with black hair said reaching out her hand.

"As in Nico Robin?" Crystal asked intrigued. She watched as the woman flinched in fear. "Cool, someone majorly wanted like me." She smiled as she watched the woman relax.

She turned to a man with blue flowing hair, and huge arms. "Suuuuupa Frrrrranky!" He answered her as he stuck his arms together to make a star and held them up in the air. Crystal laughed as she high fived him and turned to the last man, who oddly enough, was a man made of all bones. He was literally a walking skeleton with a huge afro and a suit.

"Hello, my very beautiful lady. My name is Brooke" He said bowing slightly to her as he took his hat off. "May I see your panties?"

"My panties?" Crystal asked with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged her shoulders as she undid her belt slightly and pulled her shorts out, giving Brooke a full view of her panties.

The men around her, including Luffy's crew, got nosebleeds from the view she gave them. She redid her belt and fixed her shorts before looking up and finding Brooke with a nosebleed. "How is that possible?"

Brooke went on going telling a skull joke making everyone laugh. Crystal shook her head as she looked over at Luffy once again. She quickly reached her arms out and hugged the little brother who was quickly wandering around the ship.

"What is going on?" Whitebeard yelled out making everyone stop. "Oh! We have guests!"

Crystal smiled widely at her father. "Seems Luffy has found more nakama of his own since the last time I saw his nakama in Arabasta."

"You look like you need a break." Nami said walking up to Crystal. "You look like crap!"

"Gee, thanks!" Crystal said sarcastically.

"There's an island close by that has a great hotspring. They're known for it! Maybe we should stop there for awhile." Robin suggested walking up to Crystal with a small smile.

"A hotspring?" Lily asked with curiosity.

"Sounds great!" Sakura said with enthusiasm.

"Another Crystal?!" Luffy asked awed by the girl who looked just like Crystal.

"No," Crystal giggled. "Luffy, and his nakama, meet my twin sister Sakura. And this is Lily." She said pointing them out to his crew.

"Uwa!" Luffy said circling around Sakura, making her blush and shy away behind Lily.

"Okay, you're going to freak her out." Marco said pushing Luffy's face away from Sakura.

Luffy pouted as he let out a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. He turned his attention to his brother who was watching him with a smirk. Luffy ran over and tackled his brother in a hug before smirking coyly at him.

"What?" Ace said with a laugh.

"So…I heard you and Crystal have gotten closer." Luffy said nudging his brother with his elbow.

Ace looked over at Crystal, but turned away once they made eye contact and she watched with hurt eyes. "Yeah,"

Luffy stared at them confused as Zoro raised an eyebrow and slung an arm onto her head. He heard Crystal sigh before she turned her back on them and got out from under Zoro's arm. "A hotspring sounds nice."

Crystal sat back on the deck with the girl's letting the sun beat on their skin, and the ocean sounds glide past their ears. When the ship reached the island the girl's happily jumped off first. Nami laughed as she watched the men on the island flock to Crystal and Sakura, like bee's to flowers.

"What do you wish to do my lady?" A man said eyeing her like candy.

"We're just here for the hotsprings." Sakura said.

Crystal pulled her bikini top and shorts away from her and back in, hoping to bring some air in to her body, wanting to cool it off. The men swooned over her body with hearts in their eyes, as they tried desperately to get her to show more.

"This way to the lady's side." A women said generously.

The woman ushered them into the room as the guys were ushered into the other side where they could stay in the hotspring.

"Oh! This feels great!" Crystal said dipping her foot into the water, then her body. She sat down as the other girls joined her and let out a satisfied groan at the hot water on their skin, and relaxing their muscles.

Crystal could hear the guys on the other side goofing off and playing around as they all joined into the hotspring. "Boys." Nami said shaking her head.

Nami stared at Sakura with steady eyes making her feel uncomfortable. "What?"

"You have a small chest compared to Crystal." Nami said shrugging her shoulders.

The boys stopped hearing this little tid bit from the girls side. The all quieted wanting to hear more.

"Well sorry I'm not as gifted in the body department like Crystal." Sakura said with a huff.

"I have to admit, she has a great body." Robin said examining Crystal. "How do you get your body to look so toned?"

Crystal shrugs her shoulders as she looks at them. "Nothing."

"No way!" Nami lets out. Nami smirks as she notices the guys have become quiet after all their commotion. "I bet Ace just can't keep his hands off of you."

Lily listened and smiled as she caught onto what Nami was doing. "Oh, yes. Crystal has skin that just sucks you into it. It's so soft and smooth you just want to run your hands along it and explore everywhere it is."

Sakura caught on and moved closer to her sister. "Yep, and unlike me, she has nice long legs that are slender and smooth."

"Slender hips that make a perfect curve." Lily egged on.

"Toned stomach that adds a model's curve." Sakura continues.

"Large breasts, that are soft, squishy, and perfect hand size."

"Small shoulders with a small, innocent face."

"Long silky hair that makes you want to slide your fingers through."

The men were listening intently as they imagined what the girls were going on about describing Crystal's luscious body. Most already had nosebleeds from thinking about the fantasies their bodies so wanted to act upon.

"Dude, Strawhat, Ace, you're girls are so hot!"

Nami came forward as she stared at Crystal with a smirk. "Now Crystal, let me have a look at that chest." Crystal stood up quickly trying to escape the roaming hands of the orange haired pirate. Her legs hit the back of the hotsprings making her fall and land on her back. Nami grabbed her breasts as she pressed her body against Crystal's and massaged Crystal's breasts.

"Hey!" Crystal groaned out. "Stop that!" Crystal began to whine and moan as she tried to make Nami stop.

The men began to frantically tried to look for any peep hole they could look through to see the spectacle before them.

"She does have a body that is irresistible to touch." Robin added in.

Sanji fell unconscious as his nosebleed began too much, and the men were frantically trying to see the scene on the other side. They froze as they heard Crystal groan again.

"Ah! Not there!" Crystal shouted making the guys fall over.

The girl's were satisfied once they heard splashes on the other side.

"Okay, okay." Nami said letting Crystal go. "So, tell me, what is going on between you and Ace?"

Crystal sat up surprised as she looked around, trying to get away from the scrutinizing stare of the girls. Ace on the other hand stared at the wall before them with shock.

"I don't know." Crystal said. She looked at the girls who stared at her in disbelief. "Really, I don't know."

Nami sighed as she shook her head. "I never would have thought there would be a fight between you two."

"I know what you mean." Crystal said slipping back into the water with a sigh. "Me and Ace have always been close. It's strange not knowing why he's mad at me."

"What do you see in him?" Sakura asked, honestly curious.

"What do you mean?" Crystal asked confused.

Ace and the others were intently listening to the girls as Whitebeard softened up and listened along as well to the explanation Crystal would have to tell.

"She means, why do you like Ace so much?" Lily explained.

Crystal looked up at the sky, thinking about why she liked Ace so much. "Because he's…he's…" she softened up as she finally found the answers she was looking for. "When I'm around Ace, I feel safe." She saw the confused looks on their faces. "I feel warm, comfortable, like I don't have to be ready for an attack at any second. He knows how I'm feeling most of the time; he knows how to make me happy. He makes me smile, and laugh, even if I feel like crap. He's always smiling at me; and in a world where most of my life I grew up having people glare, and give me looks of fear, it's nice to have someone look at you like that."

"So you like him because he's nice to you?" Robin asks.

Ace feels a pain inside his chest as he realizes he doesn't want to hear the answer.

"No," Ace felt relieved at Crystal's answer. "Growing up, I had no one there for me except my siblings, and Daddy. They were the only people that accepted me; I thought no one but family could accept me for who I am. But when Ace found out who I was, he didn't yell at me, send me away, or try and hurt me or kill me in any way. He reached out his hand to me and smiled. Something I had no one do before." Crystal leaned back as she remembered being with Ace all these years. "I know it may sound like I only like him for how he treats me, but that's not it. Honestly, I don't like him…" Crystal confessed making the girl's feel shocked, and Ace feel hurt so much that he clutched at his chest.

Whitebeard laid his hand on Ace's shoulder making him listen some more before he ran off. Lily opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped as Crystal smiled warmly.

"How can you say that?" Sakura said.

Crystal looked at her and warmth filled the air as Crystal smiled at them. "Because I don't like him. Since the first day I met Ace, and I didn't feel anything wrong about him, I had fallen completely in love with him."

Ace's eyes widened as the men stood frozen where they were letting Crystal's story and words into their minds.

"It sounds crazy, but I knew, from the bottom of my heart, I knew that I only wanted Ace to be as close as he is to me. I wouldn't want any other guy." Crystal said.

"I wish we all could be as pure as you." Robin said making Crystal look at her.

A slamming was heard throughout the hotspring as woman shouted and yelled at someone coming down the hallway towards the girls.

"You can't go in there! This is the woman's side!" A woman told the person walking down the hallway.

"This feeling." Boris said, making Sabo stand up also and look towards the wall.

The guys stood up quickly ready to take on whoever came busting through their door also.

"Crystal!" Sakura screamed as a splash was heard on the other side.

Ace stared at the wall in fear as an explosion was heard on the other side. The girl's appeared suddenly on their side as they faced the wall in surprise.

"Crystal!" Lily and Sakura shouted running to the wall and pounding on it.

Ace began to run to the wall, ready to burn it down as a figure appeared over them. Crystal landed in front of Ace as her foot slipped and she fell backwards into him. Crystal turned around to face Ace as she looked into his eyes, but was stopped as the figure jumped after her with a yell. Crystal tried to jump away, but the slick floor made her foot slip once again and she ended up pushing Ace over and onto the floor.

Crystal had one leg in between Ace's, as her body was pressed against his, her hand was laid upon his bare chest, the other resting on his arm that was wrapped around her waist, and her face centimeters from his as her hair draped down around them.

"Nice to see that nee-chan isn't lonely." A voice said from the men's doorway.

Crystal looked up quickly as she sat up and against Ace's leg/hip. Her eyes widened as she saw the same man who attacked them before that was tall with slight muscles, shaggy, disheveled blonde hair, and dark blue eyes staring at her with a cocky smile.

"Mamoru!" Crystal said in surprise with Sakura.

"Nee-chan, don't you think you're being a little showy?" Mamoru asked with a blush on his face.

Crystal looked down as Ace looked up at her and they both noticed her white towel had become completely soaked and was slightly see through. The girl's all noticed theirs were the same and they quickly covered themselves from the guy's hungry stares. Ace glared as he shot fire out at the men to keep them away, Sabo cloned himself to push back others, Marco threw his phoenix fire at some, Luffy punched closer ones, and Zoro knocked out ones who were still coming.

Mamoru walked up as he grabbed his sister's arm and hauled her up onto her feet. Crystal couldn't stop looking at him; she couldn't believe her little brother was taller and larger than her when he was three years younger than her!

Crystal punched her brother over the head making him complain at her random attack until he looked at her face.

"Do you know how worried I was?! And here you are joking around and attacking us!" Crystal shouted at him.

Mamoru looked down guiltily as he looked over at Sakura who was sighing and shaking her head. Crystal reached forward and pulled Mamoru's head down into her chest as she rubbed her cheek against the top of his head.

"I was so worried!" Crystal said hanging onto her little brother.

Mamoru wanted to get loose, but also didn't want to as he missed the hugs his older sister used to give him all the time. "Sorry Nee-chan." He wrapped his arms around her as she let out a sigh and pulled him away.

"Now, I think we need to get out of here and get some clothes on, before anything happens to us."

The girl's agreed as they quickly left the men's side and went to change into their normal clothes, and were soon followed after by the guys who were complaining about being hit too hard by their crewmates.

"Mamoru, how did you know where we were?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I had a feeling something bad was going to happen. I followed the feeling to here and ended up finding you two walking into the hotsprings." Mamoru explained to all of them.

Ace walked next to Crystal and brushed his hand against hers; Crystal looked up at him surprised, but smiled and grabbed his hand as if nothing had happened. This is what Ace liked about her, she always forgave people, no matter what they did. She lived by a saying she has been saying since he met her. 'Everyone has light inside of them; some just need help finding it.' He always wondered how she could be so forgiving to anyone and everyone.

"But who could want us?" Robin asked.

"Not you, Crystal." A voice said behind them making everyone turn around quickly to the voice.

Crystal gasped and tightened her hold on Ace's hand as fear raked her body. His silver hair reflected the moonlight that was now out, and his eyes black as onyx flared at her in pleasure as his eyes went over her body.

"Nice to see you again," The man said. "My little toy."

"Max," Crystal whispered, her voice cracking at the sight of him, making him smile in pleasure at the fear she was so obviously showing to him.


	23. Hot Spring

All rights to One Piece characters and plot belong to Eiichiro Ooda-sensei! All other characters are OC's that belong to me and were created by me!

Sorry for the long wait, I had a serious case of writers block and couldn't figure out what to put in. I hope it all melds together well in this chapter! Please message me whenever you want!

I am open for any idea's you have and want to suggest for the story and want me to try and add in. I gladly keep open arms out for any idea's anyone thinks may meld in perfectly with it.

OH! and does anyone want me to do a lemon? I was thinking of doing one, and I know there will be one on Quizilla, but I'm not sure if I should put it on here. Message me!

* * *

Crystal watched the man in front of her with fear as his smile turned paper thin and his eyes turned to slits. He jumped to the ground in front of them and walked closer to Crystal, making her back up slowly away from everyone else. Ace watched with anger and confusion as Crystal backed away.

Ace surrounded the man with fire making him stop in his tracks and look at Ace with annoyance. "Stay away from her." Ace told him with fury.

Max snorted at Ace as he rolled his eyes and swept his hand past the fire; the tendrils of heat came towards his hand as it disappeared in his palm.

"Wha?" Ace asked surprised.

Max laughed at Ace, walking towards Crystal once again. Crystal backed up quickly, catching her foot on a rock and falling backwards onto her butt. Ace kneeled down in front of Crystal and grabbed her chin roughly.

The others quickly charged forward to them, but ran into an invisible wall separating Crystal and Max from them. They pounded against it and used their powers to break it, but nothing broke the wall down as they stared helplessly at Crystal.

"You remember me, don't you?" Max said smugly. "I always loved the fear in your eyes. It reminds me of that night." Max turned his head at Ace and narrowed his eyes. "Obviously HE doesn't remember me."

Crystal looked at Ace helplessly as Ace looked at her with worried eyes.

Max sat back on his heels as he turned to face Ace and propped his head on his fist. "Now, now, Fire Fist Ace. Do you honestly not remember me? Eh? Captain?"

Ace looked at him questioningly and angry, but finally remember said man in front of them. "You!"

Max laughed maniacally at his former captains face. "Now you remember."

Ace narrowed his eyes at Max in fury as his fists smashed against the wall. "You used to be a part of my crew before I kicked you out for hurting Crystal!"

"Tsk tsk," Max said wagging his finger at Ace. "Now there was never proof that I did anything. After all," Max diverted his attention from Ace to Crystal as he stood up and yanked Crystal up roughly next to him by her arm. "She never said a word."

Crystal flinched from his touch as she tried repeatedly to jerk out of his grasp. "Let…me…go." She squeaked out making him chuckle as let go of her arm and grabbed her chin.

"I was always envious of you Ace." Max said trailing his fingers along Crystal's cheek as he grabbed her other wrist. "To have such an angelic looking girl go after you all the time. At first I wanted her, but then, I knew I had to make her mine, and if I had to do that forcefully, I would." He trailed his thumb along her bottom lip making her lip tremble. "So, I did. I got closer to her every way I could, then when we were in a town and I tried to take it farther, she pushed me away. She said that she didn't like me like that." Max's hands turned to fists as the veins bulged out in his forehead and his knuckles were white. "I decided that if she didn't want me, I'd take what I wanted. " He composed himself as he smirked at Crystal and began to traced her face with his fingers. "You know, she screamed for you to help her. She struggled against me as much as she could, but alas, she couldn't go far. No matter how much she screamed, you wouldn't hear her, you couldn't help her."

Ace clenched his teeth and fists as he listened to Max's annoying story, wanting nothing more than to kill him and rip him to shreds. He knew exactly what Max was doing in his story, and felt helpless and guilty that he didn't hear Crystal.

"Bet she was happy though when she did get away and ran to you." Max narrowed his eyes at Crystal as he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger and grabbed it before yanking it towards him. Crystal gasped and shook worse as Max's eyes terrified her. "Then, of course, you kicked me out of your crew. Even though you didn't know what I did. But I kept watching Crystal, everywhere she went." He shoved Crystal back into a wall as he bruised her arm. "Even though I had just lost everything, she was still smiling and laughing. It pissed me off that she was happy in her life as I tried to find somewhere to go. I wanted to wipe that smile off her face and make her suffer. Then I remember how happy I FELT when I saw the fear in her eyes." Max smiled crazily as he remembered how she had looked before. "Just then, a man named Shichiro found me and brought me to Rin and Akito Hijiri. And imagine how surprised I was when I found out they were your parents and brother!" Max began to laugh at Crystal as her body became numb.

"When I found out they wanted to destroy you just as bad, I was happy to join their side to help." Max finished. "So Ace, how far have you gotten with Crystal? I'm guessing not that far with the look you're giving me." Ace was looking at him with anger and jealousy as he glared at Max. "Maybe I should just continue from where we left off."

"Don't…" Crystal said shaking and making Max look at her with a smirk. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Crystal screamed at him as a force flung him against the invisible wall, cracking it in the process. Crystal breathed deeply as she clenched her fists and glared at Max with blood red eyes. "RYUUJI!"

Ryuuji burst out of Crystal as he tackled Max back into the wall and broke it into shards of glass as they fell to the ground. Ace took the chance and ran to Crystal quickly as he wrapped his arms around her protectively and felt her breathe heavily into his chest as she wrapped her arms up and around his back, hanging onto his shoulders as a solid rock to keep her up.

"It's okay," Ace whispered into her head as he smoothed down her hair. "I'm right here." He could feel her body shaking against his as she glared at Max through his chest.

"You bastard!"

Ace turned to the new voice so he and Crystal could see. The others had rushed forward to attack Max, but stopped as a man with black hair and red eyes was slamming Max to the ground and smashing his face with his fists.

"Ryuuji stop!" Tadao yelled running up to the others with Akira.

"I told you if you EVER come near Crystal again I'd kill you!" Ryuuji yelled at Max as he pounded him to a literal bloody pulp.

"Crystal! Tell him to stop! He'll kill him!" Tadao yelled at Crystal frantically.

"Let him," Crystal said glaring at Max. "Let him burn in hell!"

Ace looked down at Crystal in surprise as he gripped her waist and made her look at him. "No, stop him."

Crystal stared at him in surprise as her eyes turned blue and showed hurt as she thought he was on Max's side.

"You don't kill. You're not like your parent's." Ace told her gently.

Crystal clenched her teeth as she breathed out and walked out of Ace's grasp and walked to Ryuuji. She laid her hand on his shoulder making him stop and look at her. "Enough," She told him softly. He grunted as he got off of Max and stood next to Crystal.

"So you're forgiving me?" Max said, hope leaking out of his voice.

"Everyone has light inside of them," Crystal said looking down at Max with sad eyes. "Some just need help finding it."

Max looked at her hopefully as his eyes searched her face.

"Too bad, I'm not that forgiving." Ryuuji said. He slapped Max's chest, leaving a piece of paper there. "Say hello to the marines for me." Ryuuji clapped his hands making Max disappear suddenly from them.

Crystal sunk to the ground as she wrapped her arms around her body. Ace walked over carefully as he reached down and picked her up; she nuzzled her face into his chest as her shaking calmed down.

"I did what I needed to." Ryuuji said looking at Ace.

Ace watched as he saw guilt pass Ryuuji's eyes. "I would have done the same if I was able to do it. He's lucky you go to him first. I would have burnt him slowly until he no long could move and left him there to suffer."

"And people think I'm bad." Ryuuji said with a chuckle.

"You don't touch Crystal, or hurt her, without getting hurt tenfold." Ace said angrily.

"Is she okay?" Akira asked touching Crystal's shoulder. She took her hand away as Crystal flinched from her touch and went closer to Ace.

"Nee-chan," Mamoru said as he walked up to Crystal.

She looked up at her brother and sister as they walked over and looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I knew something was going to happen, yet still I couldn't protect you." Mamoru said watching her with sad eyes.

Crystal reached out a hand and ruffled her brother's hair giving him a small smile. "I'm okay. He didn't do anything to me, just really scared me. I'll be fine, once I'm able to calm down." She looked over at everyone else and nodded a thanks to them, before looking at Ryuuji and ushering him forward. Ryuuji went back to Crystal as she let out a relieved sigh.

Ace walked back to the ship with the others following close behind him as they decided to all take a rest for the day. Ace layed Crystal down on the bed, letting her sleeping body relax, before he turned to leave.

A hand grabbed Ace's wrist as he turned and looked at her. "Please, don't leave me." She whispered to him with pleading eyes.

Ace smiled at her as he lied down next to her; she pushed up against him as her head rested on his arm and her hands wrapped around his stomach. Ace looked down at her as he brought his hand up and cupped her cheek gently. She looked up at him just as he was leaning down and pressed his lips gently to hers.

Crystal sighed out gently as her body melted against his and all thoughts of Max disappeared and were replaced by the feeling of Ace so close to her. Her heart sped up as he kissed her more fervently and ran his fingers through her hair; Crystal ran her hands up his back, letting her fingers leave a trail as she twined her fingers in his hair. Ace heated his fingers as he drew patterns on her back, going down passed her shoulder blades and dip, making her shiver and breathe out. He licked her bottom lip asking for entrance, wanting to taste more of Crystal. Crystal opened her mouth willingly to him as his tongue slid into her mouth tasting and memorizing everything in there.

They broke apart breathing heavily as Ace kissed her nose, eyes, and trailed along her cheek, jaw, and neck, until he reached her shoulder and planted lingering kisses there.

"Wait," Crystal breathed out as Ace's fingers hooked around her bikini strap.

Ace sat up on his elbows over her as he looked down at her with a slightly surprised expression. He saw the slight fear in her eyes and understood that now was not the right time to go that far yet.

"I'm sorry," Crystal said sliding her hands down his arms.

Ace smiled down at her as he cupped her neck and ran his thumb along her lip. "No, I understand." Ace told her making her smile at him. "After all I do have more experience than you."

Crystal raised an eyebrow at him as she snickered a bit. "Like I don't already know that."

Ace chuckled as he kissed her lips again, lingering on them for a minute before breaking away again. "Lily and Sakura weren't kidding when they were talking about how nice your skin is, and your hair, stomach, waist, and legs." Ace said listing off all he got to touch this time.

Crystal slapped his arm with a blush. Ace wrapped his arms around her waist before falling on his side again and pulling her close. Crystal brushed his hair out of his face as she kissed the tip of his nose.

"So, why the sudden change in mood towards me?" Crystal asked.

Ace looked at her with a sly smile as he kissed her lips again. "I heard what you said in the hot spring."

Crystal blushed profusely, making him chuckle and kiss her forehead.

"I think you need some sleep after today." Ace said trailing his finger along her back as he heated them up to lull her to sleep.

"I think I'm the only one who has this much happen to her so often." Crystal laughed. Her eyes began to drift shut as she kicked off her boots along with Ace's and leaned into him with his fingers leaving patterns on her back. Sleep came over her as she listened to Ace's breathing and his heartbeat; she let his heat from his body engulf her as her dreams were filled with Ace kissing her and touching her as he just did.

Crystal woke up early in the morning as her stomach growled in protest. Crystal realized she hadn't eaten since yesterday at lunch. She felt Ace's breath hit her forehead, and his breathing and heartbeat thump against her body. She smiled as she wiggled out of Ace's arms and walked across the room. She went through the drawer until she found a shirt Ace never used. She slid off her clothes from the day before and put on new underwear, before she slid on a blue button up t-shirt over her shoulder and buttoned it up, showing off her cleavage and legs as the buttons stopped in the middle of her chest and the shirt ended mid thigh and curved on the sides to her upper thigh.

She walked out of the room, closing the door quietly, and walked into the kitchen where Thatch was already cooking breakfast.

"Hey!" Thatch said enthusiastically. "You feeling better?"

"I feel great!" Crystal said with a bright smile. "Do you have anything I can snack on for now?"

"Yeah, here." Thatch said placing some eggs in front of her. "I'm guessing Ace and you had a little fun last night?"

Crystal coughed as the eggs got lodged in her throat and she looked at Thatch with a blush. "What?" She squeaked out.

"Ha-ha, so maybe not that far yet." Thatch said watching her face.

"You guys just love to torment me." Crystal said finishing up her eggs and washing it up for later.

Crystal heard the door open to the kitchen. "Oh~ My Angel~"

Crystal sighed as Sanji wiggled into the kitchen and swirled around her with hearts for eyes. "Good morning Sanji."

"Oh~ I was coming in here to help, since everyone will be waking up soon! I didn't think I'd see the beautiful angel here!~" Sanji said making Thatch laugh.

Thatch brought out the bacon and was about to put it on the skillet when Crystal stops him. "I'd wait to do that last."

"Why? Because of Ace?" Thatch joked.

"No because of Luffy," Crystal told him seriously. "He'll wake up instantly, then we're all screwed."

Thatch shook his head as he laughed and placed the bacon down. Just as Crystal had said, a few minutes later Luffy comes bursting through the door and into the kitchen making a huge clamor before he got up and looked at the cooking bacon.

"Meat!" Luffy yelled waking everyone up.

Everyone began to file into the dining hall smelling the breakfast.

"Isn't this a nice greeting?" Marco said laughing, but stopped as Sakura came in after him and punched him on the head. Marco laughed more as he slung an arm around Sakura's shoulders before they sat down.

Sabo and Lily filed in along with Tadao and Akira as they watched Crystal with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Crystal said watching them. She tugged on the shirt as a blush rose on her face. "I didn't know people were going to wake up so early."

Arms encircled Crystal's waist making her jump; she relaxed as a kiss was placed on her neck and a laugh sounded behind her. "I don't mind."

"Of course you wouldn't." Crystal said with a small laugh.

Ace lifted her up and put her on the counter as he leaned back against her; she wrapped her legs around his stomach and ran her fingers through his mussed up head. Ace breathed a content sigh as he relished in the feeling of Crystal's fingers in his hair. Crystal giggled as she pulled his head back into her chest and looked down at him with a smirk. Ace smiled back as he stuck out his tongue, making her do the same, and making them both laugh. Ace reached his hand up and cupped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her face down to his, locking their lips together in a sweet, tender kiss.

"Get a room you two." Marco said with a groan.

"Don't be jelly." Ace said smirking as he watched Crystal sit up quickly, forgetting there were others in the room.

"I find it cute," Sakura said narrowing her eyes at Marco. "It's good to see my sister all happy with someone."

"I can show you how romantic I could be." Marco said wiggling his eyebrows at Sakura.

Sakura glowered at him as she narrowed her eyes. "Have you ever thought one, to act mature, and two, to actually just do than say?"

Marco stared at her in surprise as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment as the guys laughed.

"How are you feeling Crystal?" Tadao asked her with worry.

"Yeah, you were pretty freaked." Akira said thickly.

"Wouldn't you be?" Lily asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"I would." Sabo added.

"I wouldn't! I would have just punched him!" Luffy said with a grin from ear to ear.

"Luffy!" Nami groaned as Robin chuckled next to her.

Crystal laughed as she smiled at all of them. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Crystal tapped on Ace's shoulder making him look up at her and see her shooing him to the side. He groaned as he stepped aside and watched Crystal jump off the counter.

"I'm going to go change," Crystal said watching Ace pout. "Before anyone ELSE gets the idea of trying something."

Ace pouts more as he grabs the bottom of the shirt and tugs on it, keeping her from walking away. Crystal smirked as she grabbed his hand and tugged him over to Marco before leaving to change. Crystal came back in her normal outfit, and much more comfortable.

"So what are we doing today?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Well," Crystal said thinking. "Since we haven't left the island, let's see what they also have for us to do. Then maybe go into the hot spring again?"

"Sounds good." Nami said smiling.

"How about some breakfast first?" Thatch said catching everyone's attention. "Crystal, why don't you go wake pops?"

"Okay," Crystal said walking back out. She walked to her father's room, lightly rapping on the door. She heard snores inside, so she sighed and slowly opened the door. "Daddy," She said looking into the room.

She found her father lying on his bed with a snot bubble coming out with his loud snores. She walked to the edge of the bed and lightly nudged his arm; she expected him to keep sleeping, but instead he woke up with a light start and stared at her with a dazed look. He smiled up at her as he sat up and yawned, stretching his arms out before him and ruffling her hair.

"How are you doing my daughter?" Whitebeard asked her carefully.

"I feel back to normal Daddy." She told him, making him smile at her with glee.

His smile turned down a bit as he stared down at his daughter carefully and seriously. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Crystal opened her mouth, but closed it again as she looked away from him guiltily. "I think…" She looked back up at him. "I know, I didn't tell you because I thought you'd be disappointed in me. Disappointed that I could be scared of such a guy and how weak I acted to the situation."

Whitebeard let out a gruff sigh as he threw his legs off the bed and stared at her. "I would NEVER be disappointed in you. You have made me so proud of what you've gone through and how you handled it, I don't think there is any way I could be disappointed in you."

"Really?" Crystal asked hopefully.

Whitebeard nodded his head as he smiled hugely before laughing suddenly surprising her. He calmed down as he pulled her belt and fixed the buckle that was upside down and not even done up right. Crystal laughed with her father as she nudged her father towards the door and the kitchen.

Everyone ate breakfast, and got ready to go back onto the island. Ace made sure to stay close to Crystal, just in case someone came to attack Crystal once again. Crystal didn't mind though as she twined her fingers through his and walked close to him that his heat was radiating off his body.

A festival just so happened to begin that day and everyone decided to go off their own ways to enjoy the festival.

Crystal laughed as she ran away from Ace, making him chase after her and wrap his arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck. Crystal leaned against him as she looked around and noticed they were standing under a walkway of Sakura tree's.

"Wow!" Crystal said amazed. "It's so beautiful!"

"Not as beautiful as you." Ace told her making her blush and smile at him.

She turned in his arm and wrapped her arm around his neck, playing with his hair and putting her face close to his. Ace laced his fingers together as they rested on her lower back; he leaned his face down and kissed her lips gently and laid his forehead against hers.

"I don't know what I would do without you." Ace said looking at her with soft eyes.

"I know what I would do." Crystal said smirking. Ace pulled back surprised as he looked at her. "I wouldn't be able to do anything. I know how I felt when I saw Sakazuki plunge his hand through you, and I never want to go through that again." Crystal slid her hand against his cheek and kissed his lips more passionately. "I wouldn't be able to live without you."

Ace leaned down and seized her lips as he fiercely kissed them, bruising them in the process. He tugged on her lower lip, making her let out a small moan, and him to smile. Laughter was heard behind them, causing them to pull away from each other quickly and look for the noise.

Crystal looked at Ace with a quirked eyebrow and heard him sigh. "It seems we always get interrupted." Ace said laying his forehead against hers again.

The laughter continued as Crystal turned, grabbed Ace's hand, and walked to the edge of the tree's looking past them at the two people walking up. Ace peeked over her head as he wrapped his arms around her waist again and kissed her neck. She giggled quietly as she pushed him gently and told him to stop.

Sakura and Marco came through the orchid laughing and teasing each other. Crystal watched her sister carefully and noticed how a faint blush kept creeping across her cheeks, and the subtle flirts she kept giving to Marco. Of course Marco didn't see any of it and just kept teasing her, in his way of flirting with her. She watched as both kept their little bit of distance, too nervous to get too close to the other.

Crystal looked up at Ace and watched him smirk with menace as he looked at the two. Crystal knew he saw it also, but could only imagine what revenge he was thinking of inflicting on Marco for all the pranks and embarrassment he put on Ace

Crystal rolled her eyes at him before grabbing his hand and walking over to them.

"What are you two doing here?" Crystal asked smiling.

"Yeah, having a little "alone" time?" Ace said smirking. And felt proud as Marco blushed slightly.

"We were looking for you two actually." Sakura said changing the subject and answering Crystal's question. Crystal tilted her head in confusion. "Nami wants to get back to the hot spring, and the others are all ready for something relaxing too."

"Okay," Crystal said smiling and grabbing Ace's arm, tugging him along with her.

They all made it to the hot spring and went their separate ways to change. The girls followed the women to the new hot spring that they have to use, while the other is being fixed.

"At least it's not right next to the men's this time." Lily said with a relieved sigh. "They could hear everything!"

Crystal looked at them exasperated as her face flushed and her jaw dropped. "What? They could hear us?"

"Whoops," Nami said smirking.

Crystal huffed as she ignored the girls teasing and started laughing along with them. The women opened the sliding door letting the girls walking in laughing. The girl's waded into the water and walked around in the water, they heard a noise on the other side of the rocks and decided to check it out. The girl's stood frozen in the water as they stared at the men in the water. The girl's felt uncomfortable as the only cover they had on their bodies was the towel they had yesterday. Making matters worse, the men were wearing nothing as they stood in the water that treaded to just above their waist.

The girl's panicked and hid quickly behind the rocks as Crystal stood there froze with a blush on her face. The men stared with hearts in their eyes as they turned from human to hungry, horny dogs staring at Crystal wrapped in the wet towel, hugging her body and showing her curves. The men started to inch closer to Crystal making her back up towards the rocks.

"Enjomo!" Ace yelled, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

Crystal's head began to spin as she felt Ace's bare body press against hers and laid her hands on his chest, using him as a rock so she didn't fall. Crystal heated up as lava coursed through her veins; Ace glared at the men, holding fire in his other hand, as he kept a firm grip on Crystal.

"Uh, Ace." Crystal said tapping her fingers against his chest, not knowing whether to push away and risk the other men, or stay close to Ace and stay defended.

Ace looked down at her, his eyes softening from the glare. He quirked an eyebrow at her in confusion, then registered her face and the visible red blush creeping throughout it, and realized the reason why she was turning such a color. He flustered himself as he quickly let her go and watched as she turned around quickly.

"Um," Crystal said gathering her wits again. "I'm going to join the girl's real quick. If you guys could please get some towels on."  
"What if we don't want to?" One of the crewmates said wriggling his eyebrows at her.

The men decided to try again with getting closer to Crystal while she had her back turned toward them. Orange and blue fire enflamed by their skins, as a stretching arm punched others, and a certain green haired swordsman glared and slammed the rest into the water. Crystal turned curious by the sounds, but was covered by Ace's chest as he held her head in between his hands and made her face the rocks again before she saw anything.

"Go on the other side already," Ace said through clenched teeth.

Crystal nodded her head as she walked around the rocks and waited with the girl's on the other side. They listened as yells and screams were heard again before rustling and sighs. Whitebeard called over and said it was okay to come over once again. The girls shuffled over to the guys side, peeking out carefully to make sure that all was actually clear and safe.

The girl's still fidgeted under their hungry watches as they tried to find someplace they could sit without being too close to the horny dogs. Luffy, Zoro, Sabo, Marco, Tadao, Ace and Whitebeard sat on the opposite side of the other men, and ushered the girl's over to them. The girl's stared unwavering at the men as they thought about how safe it was.

"Safer with them." Crystal said shrugging her shoulders.

She walked over to Ace and ushered the girl's to follow her. They each sat next to a guy, now glad to have a barrier if anything happens. Crystal smiled at them encouragingly as she let out a small laugh and sat down on Ace's lap unknowingly.

Ace stiffened as he felt her body against his; he felt his body heat up more than normal as water slid down off her hair, down her neck, and passed her shoulders. He could smell the sweet scent of sakura blossom's, sunshine, and wind radiate off her body. He felt her heartbeat and breathing against his chest and felt the rumble as she laughed at something. His hands twitched, yearning to touch her skin, and make her feel better than she ever has before. He's had this yearning before, but it seems the closer he gets to Crystal, the stronger the yearning is to go farther, and make her all his.

"Hey, Crystal," Marco said smirking. "Don't you think you're making it a bit hard for Ace there?"

"What do you mean?" Crystal asked as Ace flinched his hands back to his sides and glared over at his co-commander.

"I mean, being so close to him," Marco said nudging his chin towards them. "After all, it might be hard for him to control himself. You may be making it uncomfortable for him."

"Oh!" Crystal said standing up quickly. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot that we were in a hot spring!"

"Ignore him!" Ace grumbled. He tugged on Crystal's wrist, pulling her back down onto his lap, and wrapping his arms around her waist. His heartbeat sped up as his skin touched hers once again.

Crystal looked at him confused for a minute before shrugging and leaning against him.

"I can't believe I let you have her." Tadao said sighing as he put an arm behind Akira and leaned his head back. "I could have made her so happy."

Akira glanced at him sadly before crossing her arms around her and leaning slightly forward away from Tadao.

"You take things for granted, Tadao." Crystal told him brusquely. He glanced at her confused making her lean her forehead against Ace's neck. "You don't realize when you have something nice already. How about you finally stop paying attention to me, and pay attention to what you already have. If you're not careful, you just may lose it."

Tadao looked at her and saw how Ace looked at Akira briefly; he began to feel guilty of his feelings, before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. He pressed his forehead to the top of her head. "Yeah, I know. You're right, I take advantage of things around me."

Akira blushed lightly as a smile spread across her face in glee; she looked over at Crystal and mouthed a thank you to her. Crystal shook her head as she chuckled; she turned her head as Sakura giggled and smirked evilly as she watched Marco whispering something into her ear.

"Ah! But don't fret Tadao! Because it seems I'm not the only one who is getting soft." She said making Tadao and the others look at her. "After all, just look at Sakura and Marco over there. Talking about what positions and how much they'll do **it** afterwards once were all gone."

Sakura and Marco had turned hearing their names, but became flustered as they argued against Crystal.

"That's not…"Sakura said.

"We weren't…" Marco added in.

"Don't make excuses you two, we all know you have the hot's for each other." Ace joined in, helping Crystal.

"We weren't…it was…" Marco fumbled trying to form a sentence. "It's not what you think it is!"  
"That's what they all say." Sabo says laughing

"Ah, but how far have YOU gotten Crystal?" Nami said with a smirk.

"Yes, have you and Fire Fist slept together yet?" Robin added in.

"I've always slept with Ace, I can't sleep unless I do." Crystal said making everyone crash around her.

"Not like that!" Zoro yelled at her flustered. "She means have you and Ace had sex yet!?"

Crystal reddened as she looked down and twirled her fingers. "Well…that's…um…"

"Yes?" Sakura said getting revenge on her sister.

Crystal began to fidget where she was sitting, making Ace stiffen as he felt her move over his hips and rub against him. Whitebeard let out a gruff laugh as he watched Crystal become uncomfortable.

"Not yet…" Crystal mumbled out.

Laughs were heard all around as revenge came out from everyone and the night was filled with family teasing and revenge on everyone. Soon everyone had to get out of the hot spring before the heat got to their heads and made them incapable of getting out. They changed and once again headed for the boat to pack up and get ready to go. They gave a thanks and farewell to the people on the island, along with an apology from said little brother who destroyed some of the hot spring. The boat sailed out as Mamoru decided to go with Luffy and his crew; they parted ways and made a promise to once again meet up.

Ace fidgeted in his bed as Crystal grumbled and pressed her back against his chest some more. He wiggled his arm out from under her head and slipped off the bed quietly hoping she wouldn't wake up from him being gone. He walked out onto the deck and leaned against the side as he listened to the waves and the breeze blowing by.

"What am I going to do?" Ace whispered to himself.

"Do about what?"

Ace turned his head quickly to find Sabo standing there with a cocky smile and his missing tooth. He joined his brother on the side and looked at Ace questioningly, pressing on for Ace to answer.

"Crystal," Ace said, but continued on as Sabo still gave him that questioning look. "It's getting harder to be around her and not DO something."

Sabo smirked sadly as he jumped up on the railing and kicked a leg over the side while propping the other up to hold his elbow. "Your instincts are trying to get the better of you." Sabo glanced at his brother to see him slightly nod in agreement. "Honestly, I'm surprised you lasted this long without them coming. You and Crystal have always been close, but maybe that was what satiated the hunger before. Now that you know she's yours, your body wants more; more than what she was giving you before."

"I don't want to push her," Ace said clenching his fist. "Especially after I found out what that bastard Max did to her. How could she ever want to go that far with a man? I don't want to make her scared of me like she is of Max."

"That's a decision you're going to have to make on your own." Sabo told him. "To take the risk and have her accept you, or take the risk and have her become scared of you."

"Sometimes I even wonder if I'm the best thing she needs." Ace said looking at his hands as he lit them on fire and played with it. "I can hardly protect her from everything that is after her. How can I call myself a man if I can't even protect her? Maybe it would be better for both of us if we weren't together in this kind of way."  
Sabo looked at Ace shocked. "Do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes….no…I don't know." Ace said holding his head.

"Maybe Crystal will find a better guy. Maybe she will fall out of your relationship you have now." Sabo said making Ace feel a sharp pain in his chest. "But I can tell you now. Since the day Crystal met you, there has been NO OTHER GUY. All she sees is you and how happy you make her. She's in love with you, and whether she falls out of it is her doing. But I don't see that happening anytime soon."

Sabo looked at Ace and watched him let out a huge breath making Sabo shake his head and look up at the sky. "Let your instincts come out a bit." Ace looked up at Sabo as if he had a snail coming out of his head, making Sabo laugh. "I'm not saying let them do ALL they want, just do the small things first, then build up. It may actually help with what may come later on."

Ace laughed as he watched a faint blush creep on Sabo's cheeks from insinuating what the later on is. The brothers laughed with one another until they could no longer laugh.

"Ace," Sabo said catching his attention once again. "Right now, Crystal needs you and no one else. Her parents are after her and they want her dead for good. Whether you can protect her fully or not is something you have to battle within yourself, but Crystal needs as much support as she can get right now, before her whole life may come crashing down."


	24. The Truth

Crystal sat up in bed quickly as a zap of electricity hit her, making her look cautiously around. She knew this feeling, and it wasn't good. She jumped out of bed quickly and ran out of the cabins; she dodged everyone standing about on the deck and ignored the shouts that people called after her.

"Hey!" Thatch said with a laugh as Crystal stopped next to him. "What's the rush?"

Crystal looked back and forth quickly as she tried to find the source of the electricity running through the air. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Woah!" Marco said seeing her.

Crystal was now hovering in the air as wind gently blew around her; her powers reacted to the electricity she felt and wanted to lessen the damage done if she was attacked. Crystal opened her eyes as she began to search the air closely, looking for any slight hint for what she was looking for.

"Crystal," Sakura said finally as the now silent crew was watching her. "What's going on,"  
"Don't you feel it?" Crystal asked looking at Sakura. "He's here,"

Sakura looked at her confused; not understanding what her sister was talking about as she felt nothing. "Who?"

"Shichiro," Crystal said.

No sooner than she said that, then her senses went into overdrive as she whipped her arm out and pushed Sakura aside. Crystal was hit from the side, making her skitter across the deck and ram into the side of the boat. Ace opened his mouth to yell for her, but stopped as a man with shaggy blonde hair, and red eyes floated down onto the deck in front of her.

"Hello," He said, "Little sis,"

Crystal stood up as she looked at her brother with confused eyes. Shichiro reached forward and grabbed a strand of her hair that had fallen forward over her shoulder. He smirked as he looked around the ship and spotted Sakura.

"Nice reflexes," Shichiro told Crystal. "To push Sakura out of the way, just as I revealed myself."

"Why?" Crystal growled at her brother.

Shichiro looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why are you working for THEM?" Crystal said with venom running off her tongue. "Why did you hurt Takeru? Why are you willing to torture Takeru for THEIR needs?"

Shichiro's smile disappeared from his face as he looked at his sister with discontent. "THEM? THEIR? They are our parents!"

Crystal flinched back from his tone as his eyes flashed dangerously to her.

"Sakura didn't tell you?" Shichiro said with a disbelieving and smug laugh. "I joined their side on purpose!" Crystal stared at him in disbelief as she glanced a look at her sister as she cowered towards Marco.

"Why?" Crystal yelled at him.

"Because of you!" Shichiro said, his breathing deep and heavy. "They wanted you! I was supposed to be the next heir to the throne after Takeru left to help you! I was more powerful! I could control my powers! I could handle it!" Shichiro began to step closer to Crystal. "Instead they wanted YOU! They tried everything to get YOU back! They wanted YOUR power! They wanted YOU to be their heir! YOU to be on their side! Yet you still went against them! You tried everything to stop them, and undo the bad they've done to others! Yet they still wanted YOU!"

"Shichiro stop!" Sakura yelled hanging onto his arm.

He glared at her and flung her back as he raised his other hand and smacked Crystal across the face. Ace charged forward along with the others right behind him as they went to Shichiro. Shichiro watched them with disgust as he slashed his hand in front of Crystal, making vines and branches come out of the deck and wrap around her. They crawled up her legs as they wound around them and up around her waist and stomach before running up her chest and wrapping it's tendrils around her arms, locking them behind her back.

Crystal pulled and struggled as the vines tightened their hold, threatening to crush her bones.

"Not so easy, huh? Little sis," Shichiro said with a smug smirk on his face.

Ace fired a fireball at Shichiro, but missed as Shichiro moved his body instantly. "Tsk, Tsk." He moved his index finger back and forth to Ace. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Shichiro waved his hand towards Crystal and the others watched in horror as the vines reacted to his command and wrapped tightly around Crystal's throat, closing off her scream and her breathing.

"Shichiro!" Sakura screamed. Sakura glowed pink as she ran to the edge of the ship and jumped.

Marco tried to grab her, but came inches short of her arm. Sakura began to fall before a Sea King appeared out of the water and let Sakura land on its head. The pirates moved back away from the feared monster and watched as it pushed Sakura towards her brother.

"Crystal hasn't done anything to you!" Sakura yelled at him. "She doesn't want anything to do with our parents! You can't hold that against her!"

"It would be better if she came with me!" Shichiro argued.

"Our parents want her dead!" Sakura argued back.

"No! They just want her to help them!"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yeah I do!" Shichiro said back making her look at him surprised. "Besides! Crystal is only going to get hurt by these pirates! Their captain is already holding secrets from her!"

Crystal froze and stopped struggling against the vines as she stared at her father. The vines loosened as they felt her retreat. Whitebeard looked back at her with sadness in his eyes. Shichiro watched Crystal and slowly let her down, so she could be eye level with Whitebeard.

"I knew it, he hasn't told you." Shichiro said. "Crystal, this man may act like your father, but he's far from it."

"What do you mean?" Crystal croaked out.

"You want to know why he accepted taking you in?" Shichiro said angrily as he looked at Whitebeard. "He took you in because he knew Takeru. Takeru used to know Whitebeard long ago and even helped him with some things. Takeru told Whitebeard how he had a little sister who was wanted and was worth a lot. And when that Marine Garp told Whitebeard that there was a little Hijiri girl that was captured, Whitebeard didn't want to take you in, knowing how dangerous you were. So Garp gave you to Whitebeard, but not for free. Whitebeard took you in AFTER that Marine paid him 500,000 Berries!"

Crystal stared at her father in disbelief as he stood his ground and watched Shichiro with a hard glare.

"He only took you in because the Marine's paid him to!" Shichiro yelled. "He doesn't care about you! The Marine's wanted you out of their hands, and Whitebeard wanted money!"

"Shut up…" Crystal said as her body shook with anger underneath the vines.

"What?" Shichiro said. "You're defending him?! The Marine's are on our side too! Did you know that?! Whitebeard made a deal with the Marine's that on your 18th birthday he would give you to our parents!"

"Shut up." Crystal said again, feeling water slide down her cheeks and falling to the floor.

"I can see it! Every one of these pirates want you gone! They're scared of you!" Shichiro pressed on.

"Shichiro enough!" Sakura yelled at him.

"Even your sister! She secretly hates you because she had no choice but to go with you and Takeru! She's been helping you live freely all your life! She regrets being your sister!"

"Shichiro!" Sakura yelled infuriated.

"You and Takeru would be better off if you just joined our side and not theirs! You will never be loved! No one could ever love you!" Shichiro said pointing an accusing finger at Ace. "He could never love the true you!"  
"Shut up!" Crystal yelled.

Everyone watched as tears quickly fell from her face, leaving a trail down her cheeks and making her eyes red and puffy. Crystal hid her face from everyone as she couldn't bear to look any of them in the eyes.

"We have always known where you were. We watch you constantly, just as Takeru and Sakura did." Shichiro told her. "We just decided to let you come to us on your own. Our parents are getting tired of waiting Crystal."  
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Crystal said shaking her head.

"They're giving you till your 18th birthday. If you don't come then, they will take you forcefully and kill everyone around you." Shichiro said.

"SHUT UP!" Crystal yelled.

The vines and branches around Crystal exploded away from her as she clapped her hands over her ears. She floated down to the floor gently, as Sabo ran towards her with Ace, and Sakura had the Sea King lower her down.

"Don't touch me!" Crystal yelled at them as she backed away from their touch. "It's not true! It's not!"  
"It is!" Shichiro yelled at his sister, annoyed by her stubbornness. "He took you in for money!"

"It's true!" Whitebeard yelled gruffly.

Crystal froze, scared by her father's words. She looked up at him with tears flowing down her face as every pirate stood and looked at their captain with disbelief.

"But I didn't do it just for the money! I did it because I owed her brother my life! I couldn't save him from the hands of your parents, so I repaid the debt by watching over your younger sister!" Whitebeard told him with a glare. "I never once used that money for my own need. I only used it to help Crystal! I gave most to the mountain bandits to help with raising her, and the rest for gifts that she needed!" Whitebeard looked at her with sad eyes. "At first I wasn't sure of her, but soon I got to see the girl she truly was, and not just what people said she was like. She wasn't cruel, murderous, and hateful like her parents were and everyone said she was like. She was a little girl who constantly smiled and laughed, living everyday like it was her last, and always trying her best to please me and others."

Crystal watched her father as her arms dropped to her sides. "Daddy," She whispered soundlessly.

"She may not be my blood!" Whitebeard said, diverting his attention to Shichiro once again. "But she is my daughter! I wouldn't have changed a thing! She is my blood inside! I will never see her as anything else other than a daughter! I am her FATHER!"

Shichiro clenched his teeth in a sneer, and his fists clenched in anger as he opened his hand up and raised it to aim at Whitebeard. "LIAR!" Shichiro shot a ball of light at Whitebeard, ready to hit it's mark.

Whitebeard stood his ground ready for the hit. Crystal appeared quickly in front of Whitebeard as her tears flew out around her and disappeared, and her eyes glared at her brother. Crystal pushed her arms out in front of her had the wind slash through the ball of light, slicing it in half. Branch's with thorns as sharp as knives flew out and disappeared as its energy source vanished. Shichiro stared in disbelief as he watched his sister lower her hands and the shadows cover her eyes.

"I don't care." She said clenching her fists. "I don't care if he did buy me. I don't care if they all secretly hate me. I don't care if he knew Takeru." Crystal clenched her fists again as she looked up at her brother with dark eyes and a glare. "But he would NEVER hand me over to our parents! I don't care how they feel about me! I'm happy just being with them and acting as if we're all friends and family. I don't care if Whitebeard may not want me later, cause right now he calls me his daughter! And I'm fine with that!"

"YOUIDIOT!" Shichiro yelled as he shot hundreds of the light orbs again at them.

Whitebeard swung his fist as it cracked against the air; the orbs of light all cracked down the middle and exploded before it could touch them. "I will not have you hurt my family."

Crystal looked up at Whitebeard, and smiled as she felt his hand pat her on the head. She turns her attention back to her brother and walks towards him. She jumps onto the edge of the ship and watches her brother with a piercing stare.

"Please Nii-chan," Crystal said as she held her hand out towards him with her palm up. "Come back to us. Help us get Takeru back."

Shichiro's eyes turned blue for a fleeting moment, but that was all Crystal needed to see that the Shichiro she knew was still there.

"We can have our own family again." Crystal pressed on. "We don't have to follow our parents ways. We can live how we want. I know you don't want to hurt me. Please, come back to us."

Shichiro shook his head as he back away from Crystal and turned a glare back on her. "It's your own fault if everyone here dies."

"Shic…!" Crystal began but was stopped as her brother softened his eyes at the last moment and disappeared.

Crystal dropped her hand back down to her side. She couldn't believe all she had heard, she didn't want to.

"Crystal, I'm sor…" Whitebeard began to say.

Crystal shook her head. "I don't care. Really, I'm fine." Crystal turned and smiled at everyone.

Everyone could see that the smile Crystal had plastered on her face was filled with sadness. Ace reached out to Crystal, but she stepped around it and walked passed everyone into the cabins. She went to her and Ace's room and ran a shower as her mind began to fog. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water pound on her muscles.

The other's decided not to follow Crystal as they carried on with their day and cleaned up the little mess the fight had made. They waited for her throughout the day, but she never came out.

"None of us hated her." A crewmate said as he looked at the floor.

"I think she knows inside, but hearing it from her family probably hit her hard." Sabo said.

"It's all my fault." Sakura said putting her face in her hands and slouching forward.

"No, you wanted to protect her." Marco said rubbing his hands up and down her back. Sakura leaned back and laid her head against his shoulder.

"I'm going to go check on her." Lily said as she got up and walked to Crystal.

She found Crystal curled up into a ball on the bed, fast asleep. Lily put on a soft smile as she placed the covers over Crystal and walked back out of the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. She walked back into the dining room with a relaxed smile.

"She fell asleep." Lily told them.

Most relaxed as she walked over and sat next to Sabo. Lily leaned back with a sigh as all the tension left the room. Ace got up and walked out as he made his way towards the room. He saw exactly what Lily said. Crystal was asleep on the bed, with her hair freshly wet. How long was she in the shower?

He walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down next to her as she grumbled in her sleep. Ace ran his finger along her cheek as she breathed out slowly, and played with her hair as it silkily slid off his fingers and back onto the bed. Crystal kicked off the covers as she curled up tighter into a ball, making Ace laugh as she grumbled again because of the cold.

He reached his hand over to grab the covers but stopped and blushed as he looked at her. She was wearing one of his button up t-shirts again, but most of them were undone on the top from her rolling around, showing her bra underneath, and the bottom had slid up to mid stomach, showing her underwear.

Ace reached over and grabbed the bottom of the shirt to pull it down, but as his hand brushed against her skin, he became enflamed and felt his heart begin to race. He let go of the shirt and began to trace his fingers along her hip, making her let out a soft moan and turn onto her back. His fingers moved with her body, and he began to make patterns onto her stomach and down onto her thighs. Crystal's cheeks began red as her breathing became heavier.

Crystal grumbled once again as her eyes peaked open and stared up at Ace. "Ace?"

Ace pulled his hand away quickly as he got off the bed and looked at her. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes as she placed either of her legs on either side of her.

"What time is it?" She asked him looking around and noticing the missing light that usually came through the window.

"It's pretty late. I just came to check up on you." Ace said.

"Oh," Crystal said a bit disappointed.

Ace watched her as he sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed and put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "Everyone is worried about you. They think you hate them."

Crystal let out a small laugh making Ace relax and drape his arms over his knees and stare at the wall. Crystal crawled over and wrapped her arms around his neck and she pushed her body against his back. Ace stiffened as he could feel her skin touching his again, and felt that urge that always came up when she got too close.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to think." Crystal said sighing.

Ace felt her breath against his neck, and felt his pulse beat faster, as the heat grew more intense. Crystal felt the heat coming off his body and looked at him carefully, seeing that he was tense. She moved her hands to his shoulders and began to dig her thumbs in as she moved them over the muscles, and felt them relax beneath her touch.

Crystal leaned forward and placed her lips against his neck. "What's wrong?"

Ace shook his head as she sighed in defeat. Ace felt her move on the bed until she was standing in front of him on the floor. She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at him as he struggled to clear his mind. Ace tried to pay attention to her, but his eyes kept catching her smooth, long legs, her round butt, her slender hips, her volumous chest pushing against the shirt, her hair slipping over her shoulder, and the lacy blue underwear she was wearing underneath his shirt.

Ace reached out towards her, his hand controlling itself. He stopped himself from what he was doing and felt content with wrapping his arms around her waist as he laid his head on her stomach.

"Ace," Crystal said making him look up. "What's wrong?"

Ace crooked a finger towards himself, making her lean down close to his face. He slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her face the rest of the way. Their lips connected as the heat between them grew and their hearts were beating so fast it felt like a race track. Crystal relaxed into the kiss and she pushed it further, making Ace smile and push also. They pulled back slightly to breath as they stared at each other with eyes that told all their emotions.

Ace move his hand up underneath the shirt as he ran his thumb across her hip. She stiffened, but didn't move from his touch. "Is this okay?" He asked her gently.

She nodded her head as she pushed her lips against his once again and pushed him back. He scooted back on the bed a little bit, until she placed her legs on either side of him, straddling his lap, and sat down. She wrapped her arms around his neck and twined her fingers into his hair; she pressed her body against his and felt his arms tighten around her waist, and felt his hand push her head closer to his if possible.

Ace began to slid his hand up her shirt, testing his limits on how far he could go. He took his hand away as he slowly began to undo the buttons on her shirt, until it was completely undone in the front. Crystal slid her hands over his shoulders, arms, and back, feeling the muscle move beneath her fingers, and wanting to feel it all. She got so lost in Ace's touch that she didn't realize the sharp pain on her leg.

Crystal gasped as she broke the kiss and slid back a bit from Ace. He looked at her confused, thinking he took it too far when he saw Crystal glaring down at his waist and rubbing the inside of her thigh.

"Your belt buckled stabbed me." Crystal said.

Ace looked down at her leg and saw the bruise forming from where they were pressing against each other, making the belt buckle push into her leg. Ace ran his thumb over the bruise making her blush and look away.

"Better?" He asked with a smile.

"Much," Crystal said kissing him again.

Ace sighed as he grabbed her hips again, but pushed her away slightly, this time making her look at him confused. "We have all the time we need for that later. I don't want to push you."

Crystal smiled as she pecked a kiss on his lips and got off his lap. "You know, hopefully the bruise won't show tomorrow. Or people are going to beat the crap out of you thinking you did it."

Ace laughed as he watch Crystal slide the shirt off and slip into the bed. "Is that an invitation there?"

"You're the one who told me to stop." Crystal said with a smirk as she turned over and pulled the covers over her shoulder.

Ace chuckled as he took his belts and belt buckle off, along with his other accessories. He slid into the bed next to Crystal, glad that everything was still the same. Ace cracked his eyes and watched Crystal as she breathed slowly and looked like a child sleeping there. Crystal scooted over to Ace as she snuggled into his chest and he smiled, wrapping his arm tightly around her. He knew everything was going to be good between them. That nothing could make them be apart.

Little did he know that the battle's and troubles to come, would be one's not even they may be able to overcome.


	25. Taken

All rights to One Piece characters and plot belong to Eiichiro Oda-sensei. ALl other OC characters belong to me, and I would be glad if no one would take them without my permission. The new character Mayumi belongs to a good friend chein16youkai, who was willing to give me idea's for the story.

Anyone who wants me to put an idea in the story, please message me, and I would be willing to put it in the story.

Please rate, and review! I love to hear from you all!

* * *

"Oi! Crystal!" Marco yelled for the blonde headed girl sitting on the crows nest. "Your times up!"

Crystal looked down at the blonde haired man. "Okay!"

Crystal grabs a rope and swings down to the deck as she sees the next crewmate climbs up into the crows nest. She stretches her arms out as she breathes in the wind as it blows past her face and through her hair, sending it gently back behind her.

Whitebeard watched his daughter relish in the wind as his thoughts went back to a couple days before when her older brother had come and revealed all his secrets he hid from Crystal. She didn't act the same towards him, everyone could see that. She was more distant and hardly visited him much anymore.

"Marine ship!"

Whitebeard tore his attention from Crystal as he stared hard out at the sea. Crystal walked to the edge of the ship and leaned over the railing to look around the ship.

"Kya!"

Whitebeard stood quickly as he heard Crystal let out a surprised scream and was pulled over the edge of the ship.

"Takeshi! Let me go!" Crystal yelled as said man climbed aboard the ship from his small boat, with Crystal under one of his arms.

"So it's you again!" Boris said with a chuckle. "I should have known!"

"I have to check up on her from time to time." Takeshi said setting her down. "I just saved your life, you know."

Crystal rolled her eyes at him. "You'd be the ending my life."

Takeshi laughed as he looked out at the growing crowd surrounding them. He looks up at Whitebeard as his smile fades and a serious look replaces it. "Whitebeard."

Whitebeard nodded his greeting to the Marine, but never let him out of his sight. "What is your business here?"

Crystal looked up at Takeshi with the same question playing on her lips.

"I need help getting into somewhere." Takeshi answered with a guilty smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"We should have known." Ace said smirking as he walked up behind Crystal and twined his fingers through hers.

"What is the place?" Sabo asked curiously.

"Pirate Island." Takeshi told them.

"Only the high ups can get in there!" Lily said astounded.

"What if they won't let Whitebeard in because of Marineford?" Jozu criticized.

Takeshi smiled as he draped an arm around Crystal, before taking it away and swinging his hand from the fire that light his sleeve up. He let out a small smile towards Ace as an apology, before looking at all of them again. "Exactly why I'm having Crystal help me. They'll let her in no matter what."

"So your using me because of who my parents are?" Crystal asked pointedly.

"That's cruel. You should know Crystal hates who her parents are." Sakura said walking angrily towards Takeshi, but is stopped as Marco reaches out and wraps an arm around her and pulls her to his side.

Takeshi held his arms up in surrender as he stared at her. "I only need to get some information from a couple of the crews there." He stared at all the pirates staring at him judgmentally as he brought up Crystal's parents. "Beside's pirate's respect her, for whom her parents are."

"No, they respect me for who my FATHER is." Crystal said facing Takeshi. "Those two aren't my parents, Whitebeard is my only parent."

Takeshi let out a sigh as he leaned back against the railing. "I'm not saying you talk about your parents and join their side. I'm just asking for you to gain me access into the island." He watched as the pirates closed in tighter and crossed their arms. "And if your family would calm down, they could spend a little vacation there"

Crystal looked behind her and saw that every crew member was standing around somewhere, watching Takeshi with scrutiny. Crystal smiled slightly as she squeezed Ace's hand.

"You know, I think I've taken advantage of what I have." Crystal said looking at Takeshi with a smile. "With all that has happened," Crystal said looking at everyone. "And the problems between some of us," She said looking at Whitebeard. "I think we all need a small break."

Everyone relaxed as they watched Crystal smile at them gently. They nodded their approval's to her, and Crystal waited as she stared at Sakura with a plea.

Sakura looked at Takeshi as she sighed. "If anything happens to any of us, you will have to prepare for the worst torture of your life."

Takeshi let out a strangled laugh as he stared at Sakura, then at Crystal for help, who just shrugged her shoulders and tugged Ace along behind her towards the dining hall, for Lunch.

Slowly the ship pulled up to the famous Pirate Island as the crew waiting anxiously for the vacation. Many jumped off the instant the ship docked, while others took their nervous time to get to the entrance of the island.

"Who asks entrance to the island?" One of the guards asked.

The crewmates looked up at the hulking guards standing at the doors, who were easily the size of Whitebeard, and possibly bigger. Whitebeard jumped down to his crew as he stared at the guards before smiling at them.

"The Whitebeard Pirates want entrance." Whitebeard said gruffly to the guards.

"Denied," The other said with a rough laugh.

Takeshi let out a quiet sigh as he hid in the group of pirates, hoping the two guards don't spot him.

"Let us in," A voice yelled from behind the huge group.

The guards laughed as they looked around the group. "And who is ordering us?"

The group parts as the guards watch Crystal walk passed all of them and to the doors. "Me."

The guards looked at her closely as they looked her up and down, before inching backwards with sweat dripping down their faces as Crystal flashed red eyes at them. She smiled as they gulped and nodded their heads. "Right away, Ms. Crystal."

Crystal nudged her head towards the island for the others to go on in. She walked up to the guards and smiled at them. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Here's some pay to help." Crystal put a tiny bag of money in each of their hands as she flashed them a light-hearted smile.

The guards watched with shock as Crystal walked passed them and into the island. Crystal walked to the front of the group as they stood waiting for her. She chuckled as she walked down the streets ignoring the hushed whispers coming from the other pirates.

"Aren't you a big hit," Ace said with a chuckle. "I may have to lock you up so no one can take you."

"No worries over that," Crystal said hooking her thumb into Ace's back pocket.

Ace smirked doing the same to her, and pulling her close. Crystal looked up at the looming tower before them; reaching up to the clouds, and had multi-colored lights filtering out of the top windows. Crystal reached out and threw open the doors to the tower, making the music stop, and all the pirates there stare at her and the Whitebeard pirates.

"It's her."  
"The Hijiri."  
"It's Crystal Hijiri."

"It's Tenshi No Crystal."

Crystal looked over at the group that was crowding behind her and watching the pirates circling the whole tower. She sighed as she let go of Ace and walked forward.

"Go enjoy yourselves." Crystal told them turning around. She sighed again as they stood there watching her with dumb looks all over their faces. "These people are with me! Lets let them have a good time!" Crystal yelled out to the other pirates. Soon they heard cheers from all around, making the Whitebeard pirates relax and walk out.

"Who knew the Hijiri's looked so hot!"

"Would I like to get a hold of that!"

"Looks of an angel, but I bet she does it like a naughty little devil."

Ace glared around as he heard one rude comment after the other about Crystal. Ace watched as two rough pirates, with only pants on walked up to Crystal and trapped her from going anywhere.

"Can't wait to see Crystal kick their butts." Thatch said with a laugh.

"Leave the girl alone!" A voice shouted as a figure falls from three floors up and kicks on in the head, and leg sweeps the other. "Sorry about them, they act like they've never seen a girl."

A girl with choppy brown hair, and midnight blue eyes stands in front of Crystal with a smile. "Name's Mayumi."

Crystal smiles as she high fives Mayumi. "Nice to meet ya."

"Mayumi?" Thatch says walking up with a shocked look on his face.

Mayumi turns around and her eyes widen as she spots Thatch standing there. Her cheeks pinked as she looked Thatch up and down. "Thatch," She breathed out. "I thought you were dead."

Thatch shook his head as he never tore his gaze from hers. "Just hiding for awhile."

"You know each other?" Marco asked walking up.

"Yeah, we're childhood friends." Mayumi answered as she looked at Marco and Ace.

Sakura walked up to Crystal and smiled as both her and Crystal looked from Mayumi to Thatch and saw how both their cheeks were tinged with pink.

"We'll let you two catch up with each other." Crystal says.

Crystal hooks her arm through Ace's, as Sakura does the same to Marco's. The girl's drag them away from Thatch and Mayumi with smirks.

"We wanted to see what happens." Marco pouted.

"So you don't want to be close to me?" Sakura said teasingly. "I see, I guess Ace will just have me and Crystal."

Marco's jaw dropped as he watched Sakura walk over to Ace and loop her arm through his free one. Crystal held back a laugh as she leaned forward and stuck her tongue out at Sakura.

"I guess Ace will have extra fun, huh?" Crystal said jokingly.

"Oi! Oi!" Marco said catching up really quickly and trying to get Sakura to go back to him.

Sakura finally let go of Ace and hung onto Marco as Crystal joked teasingly to the two about how they need to get close and personal with each other. This caused a giant blush to appear on both their cheeks.

"Hey! Tenshi No Crystal!"

Crystal turned around slowly as she raised an eyebrow at the pirates standing there. She looked at the tattoo's printed on some of them with a slash straight over the face of the jolly roger. The scar pirates wanted her for something. They all parted for their commander as he dragged along a man with brown hair and hazel eyes.

"He came in with you," The commander said lifting up Takeshi for them to see. "Why is a Marine with you pirates?"

"We don't know him," Crystal said waving her hand and walking on.

"Cryyyyyyyyyyssssssstttttaaaa aaallllllll~" Takeshi whined as tears ran down his face exaggeratingly, and he tried running out of the mans grip. "Don't leave me!"

Crystal sighed as she let go of Ace and walked over to the Scar Pirates. "Okay, he's with us. He's an old friend. Now how about you let him go?"

"I will if you give me a kiss." The commander said with a smirk, showing some of his missing and rotting teeth.

Ace clenched his fists as he took a step forward.

"Sure," Crystal said, making Ace freeze and watch with wide eyes. Crystal stepped really close to the commander and stretched her arms up to grip his neck in her hand. She inched her face close as the man closed his eyes and smirked.

His crewmates behind him whistled and hooted as they waited for their commander to get a kiss from the infamous Tenshi No Crystal. Crystal smirked at the last moment and pulled quickly back as she pushed his head with her hand down as her knee came up and connected with his nose, breaking it, and causing blood to gush from it. He let go of Takeshi as he grabs his nose with his hands and stumbles backwards into his men. Takeshi scrambles behind the guys as Crystal looks smugly down at the commander.

"W-what the h-hell?!" The commander yelled as he looked up at her.

"I'm not going to kiss you!" Crystal yelled at him disgusted. "I would never kiss someone else other than the one I love!"

Ace blushed brightly as he covered his face with his hand and looked the other way, trying to compose himself. Marco chuckled as he looked at Ace and nudged Sakura to pay attention, making her laugh softly and turn her attention back to Crystal.

"You only got what you deserve." Crystal told him.

Crystal turned away from the men as she walked back over to the others.

"Okay! Let's get this party started!" The DJ yelled as he shut off the lights, and switched on the strobe, black, and multi-colored lights. The speakers blared with rave and club music, and the bodies began to move towards the middle of the towers.

"Let's go!" Crystal said with a smile on her face. She ran towards the center of the tower, and turned around to look for the others. She gasped as she shot up into the air with a cylinder platform underneath her, pushing her up into the air.

The platform underneath her lit up light a light bulb and wind was sent up around her making her hair fly around her gently. Crystal could feel the music through the platform and reverberate through her body. Crystal looked down at herself and realized her body was automatically moving to the beat with steps, jumps, dips, turns, and spins. Her body moving to the beat as her body lit up and felt weightless; like nothing could hold it down now.

She saw everyone watching her as she was lit up and shown, she couldn't help but feel self conscious about how she was, but the thrill of being up high, being weightless, and dancing with the music was too much for her to stop then and there.

"Got to give it to you Ace," Marco said with a smirk. "Your girl knows how to move."

Sabo came up and hit Marco on the head as they all laughed. Sabo lead Lily out to the dance floor, and soon Sakura and Marco followed them along with everyone else. Ace jumped from platform to platform till he reached Crystal's at the highest and stood behind her. He grabs her wrist and starts to spin her around as they both connect in a dance of spins, jumps, turns, gyrating, and closeness.

Hormones were flying through the air as the place filled with heat from all the moving bodies. The music beat against everyone as some were dancing alone, but most were dancing close to another. Crystal laughed as the platform she was on began to move with the others, and bob up and down, turning, and moving around the whole tower. Ace grabbed Crystal and jumped off the platform, catching her and spinning her as they continue to dance.

"Come on, let's go sit with the rest of our family." Crystal said, wanting a break to catch her breath.

"So you two finally decided to take a break?" Thatch said with a laugh.

Crystal looked from Thatch to Mayumi and smiled as she saw how close they were. "So you finally going to tell us what you two are?"

Mayumi laughed. "I like you. You're not like how everyone says you are."

"Uh, thanks?" Crystal said not knowing whether to take it as an insult or compliment.

"What did your old man do to get so big?" Mayumi asked her jokingly. "Eat fertilizer?"

"Yeah, you know I would just sprinkle it in his food."

Mayumi and Crystal laughed as they could see said blonde doing such a thing.

"Just get a drink." Thatch said chuckling.

"I don't think she can hold her liquor." Marco challenged.

Crystal narrowed her eyes at him playfully as she sat down across from him. "Bring it on. I can out drink you any time."

"I'll join," Jozu said sitting down.

The commanders all joined, along with Whitebeard, and other pirates from around the tower.

"This 'lil girl won't win anything with how small she is." A pirate from the scar group said.

"Yeah, her body will just up and fall over." Another joined in.

"What are we drinking?" Crystal said ignoring the others. "Shots? Margaritas? Tequila? Beer? Rum?"

Marco looked around at all the competitors and smiled. "How about a shot, mixed with all the alcohol's?"

"A hell mary?" Crystal asked perking up. "Bring it."

They ordered a round for everyone, and most just threw it back. Crystal breathed out with a sigh as she slammed her shot down and smiled across the table at Marco.

"Two more!" Marco yelled happy she didn't quit after the first.

Marco and Crystal threw them back as pirate after pirate dropped over drunk and no longer able to drink. Finally it was their 15th shot and it was only Marco and Crystal left. Ace had backed out not wanting to get any more drunk than he was, and Whitebeard stopped after Takeshi wanted to talk with him. Crystal was buzzed with a faint, but apparent, flush on her face. Marco on the other hand was becoming quiet whoozy, but was hiding it very well.

"One of you has got to give," Thatch said shaking his head.

"It won't be me," Crystal said with a laugh.

"We'll see," Marco slurred.

The waitress who had to deal with all the drinks since the beginning was actually anticipating the end and couldn't wait to see who won. The whole club had stopped to watch them as they bet on if the man or the woman would win the drinking competition.

"Marco will win for sure."  
"No way, do you see her? She's hardly drunk!"

"I say the girl'll win."

"I say Marco will."

Crystal down another one as she waited for Marco to take his down.

"Let's make this more interesting." she offered. "I'll ask a question, and if you answer with a lie, and I say it is, you have to take off a piece of clothing." Marco looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "But if I get it wrong and you're not lying, I have to take it off."

Marco smirked as he finally downed his shot, and nodded. "Deal.

"Okay." Crystal said smirking. "Are you always so laid back?"

"No," Marco said looking at her. "Have you ever thought about joining your parents side?"

"No," Crystal said tipping back another shot.

"Lie." Marco said tipping his last one back.

Crystal drank hers as she smiled and shook her head. "Not a lie. I saw what they did and promised never to go on their side."

Marco pouted as he shrugged and slid of his shirt.

"Have you and Sakura kissed yet?" Crystal asked with a smirk.

"No," Marco said smirking.

"Lie," Crystal said, but regretted it as Marco's smirk grew wider.

"It's the truth," Marco said victoriously.

Crystal shook her head as she slid both her shoes off. Crystal and Marco played the game back and forth until it left Marco in only his capri's, and Crystal with only her shorts and bikini top. All accessories were thrown off, and all other add-on's were gone.

They were on their 25th shot when Marco finally fell over drunk and unconscious.

"Yeah!" Crystal slurred as she jumped up from her chair and onto the table. The pirates around roared out, as the ones who won their little bet cheered and the ones who lost still cheered in the great competition.

Crystal's shorts slid precariously down onto her hips as the threatened to fall, showing the side of her underwear that sat on her hip. Her top was loosening as the strings slowly began to come undone, and the top threatened to come off.

"Crystal, I think it's time you come down." Thatch said holding his hand out.

Crystal pouts as she crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her chest together, and showing the crowd cleavage galore. Whitebeard began to laugh as Thatch and Sabo tried desperately to get Crystal down, and watching for her clothes to fall.

Crystal jumped to another table, but dizziness over took her as her foot hit the edge and she began to fall backwards. Crystal fell into two strong arms as they pulled her close and held her shorts close and top up. Crystal looked up with a dopey smile at Ace as he sighed and chuckled at her with a smile. Crystal heard Ace talking to the others, but it was all muffled in her ears, and she couldn't tell what he was saying, or what the others were saying in reply. She felt Ace carry her away as her head lolled onto his shoulder.

Ace mumbled something as Crystal felt something soft underneath. Crystal opened her eyes as she looked up at Ace and grumbled.

"I said, I'm never letting you drink that much again." Ace chuckled softly.

Crystal watched as Ace walked across the room and took off his boots, hat, necklace, belts, and belt buckle. He walked back over and sat on the edge of the bed; he let out a deep sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. Crystal watched as the muscles in his back stretched from his movement, and his hair lay lightly against his neck.

Crystal got up as she crawled across the bed and stood up on her knees behind Ace. She reached her hand up and ran it along his back as she traced the Whitebeard tattoo displayed on his shoulder blades. She leaned down and kissed the top of the tattoo on his shoulder, and she felt him stiffen underneath her touch.

Ace turned around and grabbed her wrist as he looked at her carefully. Crystal could see the light sheen of sweat on his skin, the deepness of his brown eyes that shone with a slight light, the way his hair ruffled and curved around his face sexily, and the way his muscles strained in anticipation. Crystal leaned forward as she put her lips on his; Ace reacted with surprise for a second before his body took over and his lips fiercely moved with hers. His hand slid up her arm and around her shoulder as he turned his whole body and pushed her back onto the bed.

"Ace," Crystal whispered as they broke apart for air.

Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it would fall out of her chest, and Ace's heart was beating so hard he could swear Crystal could feel it. Crystal's face was flushed and her body already covered in a light sheen of sweat from the dancing and drinking before.

"Ace," Crystal whispered again groaning. "It's hot, help me take it off." Crystal began to unbutton and unzip her shorts, then reach for her strings on her top, before Ace could stop her.

"How can you be so teasing?" He asked with a groan. He grabbed the blanket and threw it over her, before he kissed her on the lips again, lingering for a moment, and walking back out the door. "Get some sleep."

Ace ran his hand through his hair again as he walked outside into the cool air, letting it cool and slow his mind and heart down.

"You put Crystal down?" Mayumi said walking over with Thatch, Sabo, Lily, and Sakura.

"Yeah," He replied with a small smile.

"It looks like she caused you some torment." Sabo said laughing.

"You have no idea." Ace said looking at his brother.

"I see why Crystal appreciates you." Sakura said making Lily nod, and the others look at her confused. "Not many guys would take enough control to stop and leave."

"You two should just go all the way already." Thatch said.

Ace blushed fiercely as the others laughed and joked around. Whitebeard walked up with Takeshi with faces that told, there was no joking coming.

"What's up pops?" Ace asked as he stopped laughing.

Whitebeard looked down at Takeshi as the Marine looked at all of them seriously.

"The reason I wanted to come to this island was to find information. And I found what I was looking for." Takeshi told them, making Sabo and Lily stiffen. "Crystal's parents are planning an attack very soon. Right now, there are people here, working to grab Crystal, and take her forcefully."

"What?" Sabo said angrily.

"They want her powers, and they found a way to take them, even if it kills her." Takeshi said.

Everyone stood silent and frozen as they processed what Takeshi had said.

"But if that were true," Mayumi said looking back at the tower. "We need to get back to Crystal."

"Yeah," Lily said turning quickly. "We need to have someone with her."

Everyone turned to walk to the tower, ready to protect her at all costs.

"We need to hurry, before…" Sakura began but stopped.

A scream pierced the air from the tower; one that made Ace's blood freeze. His heart stopped as he recognized it from anywhere, and knew that something had to be wrong for her to scream like that. Ace took off towards the tower, causing everyone else to snap out of it and run after him.


	26. Shortened

All rights to One Piece Characters belong to Eiichiro Oda-sensei! New plot and OC character's belong to me. Mayumi belongs to chien16youkai.

Sorry I haven't written for awhile. I have had the story done, but couldn't update because my battery on my computer would NOT charge and it was frustrating me so much!

Review or Message me please!

* * *

Ace ran as fast as he could, running into the building, and up the stairs to the rooms. He grabbed the doorknob and pushed, but the door didn't budge an inch.

"Dammit!" Ace grumbled under his breath.

He slammed his shoulder against the door repeatedly until the door broke and he stumbled inside. He righted himself just in time to see Crystal kicking out and trying to scream as the man held her mouth and carried her backwards and through the window.

"Crystal!" he yelled as he rushed forward.

Crystal bit down on the man's hand causing him to shout and let her mouth go. "Ace!" She breathed out quickly as her eyes pleaded for help.

She slammed her head back into the man's nose, not enough to break it, but enough that it made him let her go in pain. She dropped to the ground as she quickly tried to stand up futilely; her mind swirled as the alcohol still had effect over her. Her legs gave out as she had to use her arms to brace herself from hitting the floor. She looked back in time to see the man ready to swing a punch at her; she tried to put up a shield, but with the alcohol her mind wasn't processing what she wanted, leaving her defenseless against any attack.

Ace rushed forward and slugged the man across the jaw as his eyes narrowed into slits and fire erupted from his body in anger. "Don't you dare touch her!"

Six more men came through the window and door, making Crystal gasp in shock and Ace to glance at them all in profuse anger. Five of them rushed towards Ace as the other two rushed towards Crystal. Ace began slamming every man into the ground, or burning them with his fire, but once he saw two were going after her his anger became uncontrollable and fire engulfed the room. Crystal tried to fight the men off, but every move she made sent a rush of nausea and dizziness to her head, causing her to fall straight to the floor. One man grabbed her and pulled her up into the air, ready to finish what the other couldn't.

Crystal swung her feet back and forth until it hit the man holding her in the balls, and then swung forward and hit the man in front of her in the face. They both dropped as she hit the floor hard with her head connecting with the ground. She looked up and tried to crawl away, but couldn't get far as the men grabbed her ankles and pulled her back towards them.

"Enjomo!" Ace yelled as fire erupted once again and flung the men back into the walls, knocking them out.

"Shit!" The man holding Crystal said. "Quick! We have no other choice!" He told his comrade who was still holding his privates on the floor in pain.

The comrade cussed as he pushed himself off the floor. Crystal bit into the man's hand making him let go and smack her across the face. She looked at his comrade and watched as he pulled out a syringe filled with a black fluid. His smirk widened evilly as he walked closer to her, making her body shake in fear with each step.

"No!" Crystal screamed making Ace turn towards her and noticed the men advancing upon her.

She began to shake her head from side to side, making her body move too much for them to get a direct hit into her skin.

"Dammit! Hold still!" The men yelled at her.

He grabbed her chin, locked his leg around hers, and moved his arm down so he was holding her arms and torso still. He jerked her head to the side, forcing it to stay there, and leaving her neck open for his comrade to inject her.

"Stop!" Ace shouted as he ran towards the men.

It was too late though as the man jabbed the needle into her neck and pressed down on the syringe, injecting her bloodstream with the black liquid. She froze as the needle shot pain through her body, and the black liquid burned her veins like fire. Her body was on fire, even after the needle was taken out and the man thrown across the room by Ace. She dropped to the ground like a rock as the last man let her go and took off running. Her body laid on the ground, unable to move as she stared straight ahead, her vision becoming covered with black spots and fading in and out.

"Now you have no other choice but to find us." She heard the man say. It was as if they were underwater and he was speaking. "She will die in half a year if you don't find us. We are the only ones with an antidote."

She heard the window slam open and the man laughing as her vision blacked out completely. The last things she heard were the others finally charging in and explaining how there were men out there keeping them away from the room, and Ace yelling her name for her to wake up.

Ace leaned over Crystal as he called her name out, hoping she would wake up. "Crystal! Wake up! Oi! Wake up!"

He touched her shoulder and his eyes widened as he found her ice cold. He picked her up gently as he held her in his arms and sat against the wall. He warmed his body up, trying to get her temperature back to normal. It was the only thing he could do; he didn't know what else he could do to help her.

"Go get a doctor!" Ace yelled, "Quick!" He shouted as not one of them moved.

Sakura rushed to Crystal's side as Marco ran off to look for a doctor and Thatch and Mayumi stood watching at the doorway, not letting anyone take a look inside. Sakura stared at her sister as she placed her hand on her neck and tried to heal her sister, but as soon as the glowing began, it died down as if something was blocking it from Crystal. Boris rushed through the doorway and kneeled down next to Crystal.

"She's freezing." He whispered to himself as he felt her cheek. "Loosen your grip on her so I can take a look, but don't let her go, we need to warm her up."

Ace nodded as he loosened his arms around her, but slid one down to her waist as he warmed his body up even more. He rubbed circles into her skin, staring worriedly as her eyes didn't open, and she showed no signs in response. Boris looked over her to make sure that wasn't any damage that'll hurt her from moving her, and when he was satisfied he began to look over her legs, body, and arms. He gently pressed on her neck, making her head move towards him, and making him gasp in horror as he stared down at the injection site. There was now a black mass forming underneath her skin, in swirls that looked like tendrils reaching for the rest of her. It looked as if it was beating under her skin, as if it had a heart beat of its own.

Boris looked behind him and saw the crowd forming at the doorway. "We have to get her out of here."

Ace looked towards the crowd and nodded his head as he nudged her head to lean on his shoulder, and he slid his arm under her thighs, before picking her up and carrying her towards the door.

"Move," Ace commanded as he looked up at all of them with narrowed eyes. His anger still had not calmed, and the look in his eyes scared even the bravest of pirates there.

They parted for him easily as he walked down the stairs and towards the ship, where no one but the crew would be able to enter. Whitebeard stood up with the rest of the crew as they saw Ace coming close to the ship. Once he got on the deck Whitebeard had to hold back a grunt of surprise at seeing Crystal in his arms, limp as a dead body.

"What's going on?" Whitebeard asked Ace worriedly.

"They got her," Ace said through clenched teeth. "The same people working for her parents injected her with something."

Ace could see Whitebeards jaw clench as the rest of the crew stared in horror at the girl they thought was invincible. Ace walked passed them all without another word, to preoccupied with getting her somewhere comfortable and safe. As Ace left his room, Boris was walking up to the door with Marco and Thatch right behind him.

Ace looked at Mayumi, Sakura, and the now present Lily. "Watch her. Don't let her out of your sight." He told them.

They just nodded as he walked off towards the deck of the ship. He looked at Marco, making his comrade flinch from the anger in his eyes. Thatch put a hand on Ace's shoulder as he nodded telling him the men who attacked them are captured. He clenched his fists and teeth as he pushed passed the two men and onto the deck.

"Ace, hold up." Vista said spotting Ace and holding his hands up.

Ace shoved past him as he continued to glare at the man sitting on the floor.

"Ace," Jozu said standing in his way. "Just wait a minute."

Jozu grabbed his arm as Ace tried to shove past him too. Ace glared at Jozu as flames erupted in his hands. They heard a groan come from the man as he finally began to wake up, causing Ace to look over. The man looked around the ship taking a guess at the atmosphere, and once he spotted Ace, he smirked knowing their plan worked. Ace's anger boiled over once again as he jerked his arm away from Jozu and rushed the man, grabbing his shirt and pulling him into the air and against the side of the ship.

"I swear," Ace told him through clenched teeth, "I swear, if you don't give me that antidote now, you will die."

No one had ever seen Ace this mad before, not even when he wanted revenge on Teach. As everyone thought the man was going to spill and give them the antidote, he did just the opposite; he smiled and began to laugh maniacally in their faces.

"You idiot!" He shouted. "The only way to save her is to take her to her parents!"

Ace threw him across the deck as the others grabbed him quickly to stop him. "As if we would do that! They will kill her!"

The man smirked as his laughter filled the night air, making chills run down everyone's spins. Whitebeard walked up with an obvious black cloud over his head, this time scaring the man with his presence. The man cowered back as Whitebeard took steps towards him and glared down. Whitebeard slammed his bisento down, shooting the man up into the air before he caught him with the sharp edge.

"We will help my daughter, even if it's the last thing we do." He growled. "Takeshi!"

Said man walked over with a glare in his eyes also. He nodded as he looked at the man and snapped his fingers. Marines stormed in from out of nowhere and surrounded the men who were trying to take Crystal. "Let's give you a taste of the new Marine Ford."

The Marine base shook fear into the men as they all cowered against one another, but did little good as the Marines yanked them up and threw them onto their ship. Takeshi jerked his head towards the ship and the Marines saluted him before marching onto their ship quickly.

"I'll take care of them," He told Whitebeard. "I'll try and find any information I can."

Boris came walking out looking worse for wear. He looked up at everyone and their expectant faces, but shook his head causing disappointment to rain down. "There's nothing I can do for her."

He let out a sad chuckle as he rubbed his neck. "What kind of doctor am I? I can't even help the one girl I became a doctor for."

"What's wrong with her?" Takeshi asked worriedly.

Boris shook his head as his shoulders rose and dropped. "Whatever they injected her with, it's affecting her body, but slowly. The black mark disappeared, but whenever she tried to use her power in there it appeared again. I don't know what it is, but if it's as dangerous as they say, then we need to find something quickly."

"We need help," Thatch said.

"Yeah, someone much higher than me in power." Takeshi pointed out.

Sabo and Ace looked at each other as the same idea formed in their heads. "We know someone." Sabo told them, making everyone stare in confusion.

"You don't mean going to HIM." Marco said angry now. "Not after what he's done to you and pop's!"

"He won't do anything." Ace told him forcefully. "Not where we're going to meet him." He looked up at his father and watched as Whitebeard let out a deep sigh. "Takeshi, I need you to send a message as fast as you can to someone."

Ace quickly wrote down a note as he folded it up and wrote down the name of top before handing it over to Takeshi.

He looked up at Ace with wide eyes. "You mean him?"

Ace nodded. "Go,"

Takeshi nodded quickly as he got aboard his ship and quickly headed towards the Marines.

"What do we do now?" Marco asked them.

"We wait." Ace told them.

"Wait?" Boris asked. "We don't have time to wait!"

Vista tried to grab Boris before he said any more, but Boris threw him off.

"For all we know Crystal could die tomorrow!" Boris shouted as water filled his eyes. "You want to sit back and relax while Crystal is in that room, in enough pain that could kill someone, and you want to wait?! How selfish can you be?"

Thatch grabbed his shoulder making him look at the cook as he shook his head. Boris stopped in shock as he realized what he said and looked back at Ace, seeing his body tremble, his fists clenched, and shadows covering his face.

"You think I don't know that?" Ace whispered. A tear fell from his eye as it pattered against the deck. "You think I don't know how much pain she's in? How there is nothing we can do? How useless I feel right now?" Ace stood up as he glanced over his shoulder towards Boris, not afraid to show him the tears leaking down from his eyes. "I could lose her, and everything I am. Yet I know I can't do a thing to stop her pain and suffering. Knowing I don't have the cure. Knowing that all I CAN do is wait." Boris stood up straight from Ace's words not realizing this before and feeling guilty. "You don't know how much this pains me to see her like this. I would give my life to stop her suffering. Next time you not only think, but KNOW that I don't feel a thing, THEN you can lecture me, but otherwise, keep those fucking thoughts to yourself."

Ace turned his head back around as he stalked away from everyone else and towards his room. Boris looked at the deck guiltily as everyone stared after Ace with hurt eyes, knowing he was in much more pain than any of them was.

Ace opened the door to find the girls still in there; Sakura lying down next to Crystal, Lily pressing a wet cloth to her head, and Mayumi standing at the edge of the bed waiting for something to do. They looked up as he came in and instantly became alert.

"Ace," Lily said worriedly and apologetically.

He shook his head as he took the cloth from her hand and sat next to Crystal pressing it to her head. "How's her temperature?" Ace asked softly.

"It went from freezing cold to sky rocketing high. But her body is still in chills, she won't stop shivering." Mayumi told him as she looked over Crystal once again.

"We changed her clothes, and there's a fresh bowl of ice water in case she needs to cool off." Lily said moving over to Mayumi and tugging her along.

Sakura slowly peeled herself away from Crystal with tears in her eyes as she looked at her worriedly. Ace noticed the look in her eyes.

"Sakura," He said quietly making her turn back to him. "You can stay in here if you want."

She stared at him reluctantly before looking back at her sister and nodding her head and climbing back into bed next to her sister. Ace watched as Sakura soon fell asleep and he brought a chair up next to the bed and held Crystal's hand, watching as her chest gently fell and raised showing her breathing had calmed. His mind soon became filled with the dark as he fell into sleep.

Morning came and Crystal woke with a start as a sharp fire erupted in her chest before completely disappearing again. Her eyes shot open, before she realized where she was. She looked to her side and saw Sakura laying there with tear trails down her cheek and nose. Crystal got up slowly as she moved Sakura off of her and noticed something warm in her hand. She looked over and smiled as she saw Ace sitting in a chair and leaning on the bed fast asleep as he held her hand worriedly, and noticed the same trail of tears on his cheeks, though fainter than her sisters.

Crystal wondered why they were there and why they looked so worried, then she remembered yesterday night and the whole fight. Her head pounded in pain as she remembered how much alcohol she drank too and groaned as she mentally smacked herself for drinking so much. Her attention went back to Ace as she smiled warmly, remembering how he tried to save her, and how he probably did so much more afterwards.

She leaned down towards him as she kissed his cheek; she tried to take her hand away, but ended up having him wake up suddenly. He shot up as his eyes showed sleep still in them; he stared straight at her as his mind processed what he saw in front of him.

"Crystal," He whispered amazed as he finally noticed it was her sitting up in front of him, in one of his button up t-shirts, and looking back to normal.

She smiled at him hoping to cheer him up and prove she was alright, but instead water filled his eyes as he clenched his teeth trying to hold it back.

"Ah!" She said quietly as she inched forward towards the edge of the bed. She reached her hands forward as she cupped his cheeks into her palms and laid her head on his. "It's okay. I'm alright."

Ace reached out quickly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her off the bed and onto his lap, making her legs straddle him as he leaned into her shoulder.

"Ace!" She said surprised.

She stopped as she realized his hold was tight, and his shoulders were trembling underneath her hands. She didn't realize how much she had scared him last night by dropping suddenly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him burrow his head thankfully into her neck. She lifted his head after a minute and made him look at her.

"Ace, I'm alright." She told him.

He leaned forward, letting his forehead sit against hers as he closed his eyes and breathed her in. She did the same as she felt his breath hitting her face gently. She blushed as she realized how close they were and how she was sitting on him. She could feel his thighs and hips against hers, and his body pressed to hers with warmth, the muscles moving underneath her in anxiety, his breath roaming over her, and his arms protectively around her as they held her close to him. Her heart sped up as her breath hitched.

Ace opened his eyes as he looked at her curiously, and then smirked as he saw the blush flit across her face. He cupped her neck as he pulled her towards him as he claimed her lips hungrily. She wanted to force him back, saying it wasn't the right time, especially with her sister right there, but her head wouldn't make her mouth form the words, or her limbs to push him back. Instead she succumbed to him and kissed him back fiercely. He pulled her closer as he leaned back and let her lean against his body. They broke for air as their breathes were already heavy, but Ace didn't let her breathe as he quickly attacked her lips again, bruising her bottom one as he nipped at it and shoved his tongue into her mouth. She gasped as his tongue roamed her mouth and pushed against hers in a battle. She tried to fight back, but soon lost as the feeling overcame her.

Ace didn't realize how much he craved her touch after that ordeal. He needed to feel that she was real, taste that she was real, and not just see it. He loved the way she looked when she was out of breath and embarrassed. A blush was constantly on her face as embarrassment and heat flashed through her, her hair was mussed up, and her body always got that light shine to it, making him all the more wanting her. As he roamed her mouth, his body decided it wanted more. She felt his hand roam up her leg, tracing patterns of heat into her thigh, then hip. His hand traced its way up her back under his shirt as he carefully slid it to her stomach.

She broke away, and he expected her to push him away and walk off to compose herself, but instead he saw her eyes that said she wanted more, and he nearly tore off her clothes and take her then and there. As he was about to undo the buttons of the shirt, Sakura grumbled behind them causing them both to snap out of the moment and remember someone was there.

Ace sighed as his head leaned down onto Crystal stomach, and his arms once again wrapped around her waist loosely. "Why does something always come up?" He grumbled.

Crystal laughed as she looked down at him with a smile. "Maybe one time we won't be."

He looked up at her shocked, as a smile crossed his face and he kissed her gently on the lips.

"If I knew you were going to be making out when I woke up I would have slept in my own room." Sakura teased as she stared at the two with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't bother us." Ace said as he kept kissing her.

Crystal giggled as she looked back at her sister and Ace kissed down her neck. Sakura rolled her eyes as she got off the bed and walked to the door.

"Ah! Sakura wait!" Crystal said worried her sister was mad at her. She gasped as Ace kissed her right above her breast.

Sakura looked back as Crystal stared at her sadly. Sakura smiled warmly. "I'll see you in a little bit. I'm not the one who's being over protective right now."

She giggled as she closed the door behind her, leaving Crystal staring at the door with a blush as Ace continued his antics.

"Ace!" Crystal whined as he started undoing the top buttons. "You don't know how embarrassing that was!"

He laughed as he kissed right between her chest making a shiver go up her spine and a gasp to escape her lips. He crooked his finger under the front of her bra, pulling it slightly up; he licked down her neck as he made a trail going down her neck, chest, until finally he reached the small part of her breasts that were peeking out. Another gasp left her mouth as she gripped his shoulders; his other hand slid down to the bottom of her shirt as he slowly undid the buttons till his shirt was completely left undone and was loosely hanging around her.

"Ace," She breathed as she looked down at him with fogged eyes.

A shiver went up her spine as he looked up at her, his eyes showing all he felt right there, how much he wanted her. He seized her lips again as he roamed her mouth again with fierceness. His hands slid up her sides, resting at her chest for a moment before continuing while sliding his shirt over and off her shoulders, letting it hit the floor at their feet. He kissed her shoulder gently as his thumb rubbed circles on her lower back. His fingers trail up her spin as it grabs onto her bra hook; slowly he undid it while the straps slid down her shoulder. His hands grip her ribs as his thumbs rub the side of her breasts, helping the bra move away from her chest.

Crystal blushed as she realized what Ace was going to see; but she didn't want to stop as the heat in the room was surrounding them, and her body shook in anticipation to what was to come. Ace looked up at her again and kissed her passionately to quench her worries.

"Ace!" Sabo yelled slamming the door open and stepping into the room. "We want to see Crystal too! Don't be selfi-" He looked in the room in confusion. "Oh, did I interrupt something?"

Crystal had jumped down to the floor as she held her arms over her chest keeping her bra there and crouched by the wall trying to compose herself again. Ace was sitting in the chair as his fist rested on his knee, tightening in frustration. He looked at Sabo with fire in his eyes as he stood up and charged towards his brother.

"Now Ace," Sabo said holding his hands up in surrender. "You know I didn't mean to."

Ace chased Sabo out onto the deck as he put his brother into a headlock and took his hat off before twisting his fist on his head. They began to laugh as Ace finally let go and shook his head while walking back to the room.

"Sorry to ruin the mood!" Sabo yelled across the deck making Ace redden and quickly escape to his room again.

Ace stood surprised as he saw Crystal finish tying her bikini top and tighten the belts before turning around and facing him.

"Sorry," She said suddenly. "Seems I got a little carried away."

He stared at her in shock before smiling at her warmly and kissing her gently. "Anytime you want to get carried away, I'm here." He watched as she smiled and blushed at his comment. "I'm going to go take a shower." He told her as he lightly patted her towards the door.

She walked out onto the deck and was surprised with loud greetings of joy. They all hugged her as she walked by each of them.

"It wasn't that bad." Crystal told them with a faint smile.

Boris knocked her on the head with his knuckle. "Stop lying. We all know you were in pain."

Crystal looked down embarrassed as she twirled her finger into her hair. She looked around at everyone and noticed how they all nodded to agree with Boris, making her even more embarrassed. "So where are we going?" She said to change the subject.

"To see old friends." Ace said coming out as he tried drying the rest of his hair.

Crystal blushed as she saw the water drip off his hair and onto his shoulders, running down his chiseled chest and stomach, how his belts were undone leaving his shorts loosely hanging on his hips, and the way his muscles showed with every move he made. Crystal walked up to him as she grabbed the towel on either side of his neck and pulled. Her lips pressed against his making him surprised at the voluntary dominance.

"Sorry," She said faintly as she pulled back and let go.

"Woah!" Marco said chuckling. "Crystal taking the initiative? That's a change!"

She looked down as she did his belts up slowly, letting him watch her in embarrassment. She grabbed the towel as she dried his hair for him and wiped the remaining water from his body. She looked up and blushed profusely as Ace stood there staring at her unwavering; she threw the towel in his face to make him stop.

Whitebeard laughed as he held out his hand towards Crystal warmly. She took his hand instantly as he lead her over to him and up onto his knee.

"Are you sure you are feeling alright?" He asked with worry in his voice and eyes.

"Yeah," Crystal told him with a small smile. "It doesn't hurt anymore." She unconsciously rubbed her neck where the needle had gone in and the black mark had seared inside her body.

Whitebeard ruffled her hair as he laughed. "Well that's good! We'll need you to be better when we visit them!"

"Who are we seeing?" Crystal asked dropping her hand and looking curiously at the crew who all shrugged unknowing.

"You'll see." Ace said reaching up and snatching her off of their captain's lap.

Crystal pouted as she climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck with her cheeks puffed out. He walked into the kitchen hoping something would be made up; and as he thought Thatch was already ahead of them and had prepared something for the two of them.

"Figured you'd be coming soon." Thatch said smiling. "Well hoping. You gave us quite a scare back there Crystal." He walked over and placed the plates in front of them full of bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, eggs, and toast. He ruffled her hair gently as he gave her a worried smile.

"Sorry," She said guiltily. "But I'm alright!" She put up a peace sign as she smiled from ear to ear in her goofy grin so similar to the D brothers and Sabo.

They chowed down with Crystal having to fend off her food from Ace and his grabby hands, and laughing as Thatch helped her out with a frying pan.

"So," Crystal whispered as she helped Thatch with the dishes. "Do you know where we're going?"

Thatch looked back and watched as Ace stretched out and fell asleep on the table quickly before he looked at Crystal again and shook his head. "I don't know. Sabo and Ace chose some place and told Pop's. But they haven't told anyone else, and it's making everyone antsy."

Crystal sighed as she finished drying the dishes and put them away. "It's making me antsy trying to figure it out." Crystal confession.

Crystal followed Thatch out of the cooking area and towards Ace. "Just let him sleep." Crystal told Thatch stopping his hand from shaking his shoulder. "I don't know how much sleep he got from watching over me last night."

"Okay." Thatch said putting his hand on her lower back and directs her towards the door leading to the deck.

Crystal ran out as she hopped over to the side of the ship and plopped herself onto it, turning her body and letting her legs hang off the edge. Though she wanted to know where they were going, she was anxious to see it, hoping it was someplace where she didn't have to worry.

She nodded off as the sound of the water, and the wind brushing against her, lulled her into sleep. She woke up at a voice yelling and getting louder and louder as if it was getting closer. Her eyes blinked open as she looked ahead and saw the ocean. Her mind was taking awhile to wake up as she felt the afternoon sun on her shoulders, heating them up adequately.

"KYA!" Crystal screamed loudly as something wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from her spot. She crashed into a body as it flew back with her and hit the floor.

A familiar laugh was heard behind her as she turned around quickly and saw her oblivious little brother smiling underneath her.

"You should have seen your face!" Luffy laughed as he sat up with his arm still around Crystal and making her sit in front of him.

"Luffy!" Crystal groaned as she knocked him over the head, making him laugh even more.

"Oi! Luffy be careful! She just got better! We don't need her hurt anymore!" Sabo said chuckling as he walked over with Lily.

"Are you alright Crystal?" Lily asked bouncing over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Crystal told her before he rubbed her head. "Just a headache; being woken up by flying through the air tends to do that."

"What happened before?" Luffy asked staring at Crystal worriedly.

"Before anything," Ace said appearing behind Crystal and pulling her up into his arms away from Luffy. "You should tell your crew to come onto the ship."

The Whitebeard pirates crowded on the deck as the Strawhat pirates piled on after their captain who was circling around Ace and Crystal with worry.

"Stop that!" Ace said irritated as he flicked Luffy in the forehead, making him to stop and hold his forehead.

Ace sat down in the middle of the deck as everyone crowded around with the Strawhat's wanting to talk and hang out with them. He sat Crystal in front of him as his legs were placed on either side of her; one bent and the other lying on its side and wrapping around her. She leaned back with a groan as she pressed her palms to the side of her head.

"Figure's the first thing our little brother would do is give you a headache." Ace chuckled as he made her let her head go. He placed his thumbs on the sides of her temple and began to massage circles as his fingers heated up and helped the headache disappear.

Crystal relaxed and leaned back against Ace as she felt his breathing through her back and listening to it as she let him massage her temple gently. Crystal opened her eyes as Ace stopped massaging and she cowered back against his chest quickly as Luffy sat in front of her with his face really close to hers.

"So what happened?" Luffy asked sitting back on his heels. "Are you okay now?"

Crystal stared at him in surprise as she saw the worry cover his face. "Yeah," She said smiling. "I'm alright now."

"She was attacked by people working for her parents." Sabo said sitting next to Ace.

"Gave us all a scare when she hit the floor." Marco said sitting on the other side.

Lily and Sakura walked over as the crouched next to Luffy and held their chins in their hands.

"But she's as stubborn as ever." Sakura said with a huff.

She jumped up as Luffy stared at her with wide eyes full with wonder. "What?!"

"You look like Crystal!" Luffy shouted making everyone fall over in exasperation.

Sakura face palmed her face as Crystal began to laugh.

"Just sit down." Crystal told her as she pushed her sister with her leg, making her land in Marco's lap.

Lily laughed hysterically before Crystal did the same to her, making her land in Sabo's lap. The girl's reddened as they struggled to quickly get up.

"Capture!" Sabo yelled as his arms raised with Marco's.

"Complete!" Marco finished as their arms clamped around the girl's, locking them on their laps.

Crystal couldn't stop laughing as she gripped her stomach. The crew laughed along with her as the air around the ship grew light and joyous. Luffy looked around at them all before he smiled and grabbed Nami making her sit in his lap the same way the others were.

"Luffy!" The navigator yelled at him as she blushed and struggled feebly against him.

"It's like a little group of couples here!" Thatch laughed as he watched them.

Mayumi smirked as she grabbed his hands and made him sit down as she plopped onto his lap. "Now you're not left out." She said smirking.

"You're making this worse!" Sakura complained as her face turned to a cherry.

"Just calm down." Crystal said finally able to breathe. "We all know you're enjoying it!"

Sakura opened her mouth, but shut it quickly, not wanting to make it worse. But others took it as her agreeing with it and making the whole ship filled with laughter.

Whitebeard laughed loudly as he looked at the group of couples. "I guess all the more grandchildren for me then!"

"Daddy!" Crystal complained as she looked at her father.

"So how long are ya staying Luffy?" Ace asked wrapping his arms around Crystal's waist, pulling her close to him.

"I don't know," Luffy said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you want!" Whitebeard said laughing.

"Besides," Ace said with a smirk. "I think you'd want to go and say hey to the people were visiting."

Luffy perked up as he smiled at his brother and nodded his head.


	27. Visiting Home

**All rights to One Piece Characters and plot are to Eiichiro Oda-sensei. The rights I have to the story are my own plot added to the One Piece plot and my OC Characters: Crystal, Lily, Older Sabo, Tadao, Akira, Mamoru, Sakura, Alive Thatch, Takeru, Shichiro, Max, Rin, and Akito. The rights to Mayumi go to my friend from chien16youkai~**

**I'm glad to be back everyone! My computer finally was charging good, and would last awhile, but I had issue's with our router next. We found out the router that was given to us by cox hadn't been used any more and we got a whole new one. So we hooked it up, and everything is working well!**

**The good this is while I didn't have internet, I had enough time to write two new updates for Fire and Light, and two (almost three) updates for Frozen Roses.**

**I love to hear from you all and thank you HaveANiceDream for helping me with the problems I had!**

**I would like it if ya'll would message me on the thought of a lemon for Crystal and Ace! Should I make one? Or should it just be an innuendo you make up? I can do either or, I have made lemons before!**

**Once again I'm glad to be back and thank all of you for waiting till I updated. Ya'll are awesome! Rate and Review!**

* * *

"Luffy!" Crystal grumbled as she draped her arms over his shoulders and hugged him. "Tell me where we're going, please."

Luffy was unaffected by her whining and begging as he laughed and leaned back into her. "It's a secret!"

Crystal puffed out her cheeks in a pout as she let go of Luffy and let him fall backwards onto the deck. He pouted before laughing at seeing her face as she stomped off. Ace was laughing with his brother as he's watched her everyday beg and whine and try to find any way to get it out of people. Every island they go to she asks if this is where they going with excitement, then pouts once again as he has to break it to her that it's not. He'd think she'd just give up since it's been a month since they first started their journey.

She plopped down into his lap as she crossed her arms. "This isn't fair."

"Aw a lover's quarrel, how nice." Zoro teased.

Crystal glared at him as Sanji twirled across the floor with hearts in his eyes, then stopped as he yelled at Zoro for teasing her.

"You'll know soon enough," Sabo said chuckling.

"But you guys say that every day!" She complained as she slammed her hands into her lap, and looked up at him. "It's been a month now!"

She went to say more when a coughing fit wracked her body making her double over in Ace's lap and cover her mouth. Ace's eyes widened as he reached forward and patted her back.

"I'm fine," She said as she looked down at her hand and quickly closed it as she put it down into her lap.

Ace's brows furrowed as he grabbed her hand and forced it open, showing a splatter of blood in her palm where she coughed. "It's getting worse."

She pulled her and away from his letting it hide from everyone's sight, but it was too late as everyone already saw and was looking at her with pity.

"I'm fine," She said quickly as she smiled at everyone and waved her other hand in the air.

"Land!" The scout in the crow's nest said before anyone could argue.

Everyone's attention was diverted to the island that was slowly becoming larger and larger.

"We're here!" Luffy yelled happily as he jumped over the side of the Moby Dick and jumped onto the Thousand Sunny. His crew followed after him as they prepared to dock soon.

Ace stood up and pulled Crystal up with him as she looked out over the edge to the island. "But this place."

"Welcome home," Ace said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

Fuusha Village slowly came into view as the ships docked into port and the crews entered the village. The crew went all over the place, but Ace, Sabo, and Luffy had a specific place to go. Crystal, Sakura, and Lily were dragged along with them as they climbed the mountain towards the familiar forest and home.

Dogra eyes widened as he spotted Ace and Luffy running up the hill before all of them. "DANDAN!"

Crystal hung back with Sabo, Sakura and Lily, not wanting to go up yet.

"What are ya yellin for?!" She yelled at him.

She froze as Ace and Luffy stood there smiling like idiots at her.

"DanDan you shouldn't yell at them all the time." Makino said coming around the corner with laundry. She dropped the basket as her eyes saw the two boys standing there. She smiled as she ran forward and hugged the two.

"What are ya'll doin here?" DanDan said walking forward and chewing nervously on her cigarette.

"It's good to see you too." Ace said smirking.

"Haven't you heard how strong we've gotten?" Luffy said proudly.

"Yeah we heard about Marine Ford." Dogra said sadly as the other mountain bandits walked up to greet the boys.

DanDan rubbed her neck as she looked away from the two, and Makino had water forming at the brim of her eyes. Crystal was so excited to see them, but didn't understand why they were acting so sad.

"First we lost Sabo, and now we lost Crystal." DanDan said clenching her teeth. "Neither one of them deserved to die."  
"They were good kids." Makino said dabbing at her eyes.

Luffy opened his mouth to tell them the truth, when Ace covered his mouth and stepped forward. "Actually that's why we're here."

"Did ya decide not to be a pirate anymore?" DanDan said hopefully.

"No,"

DanDan, Makino, and the bandits turned to the voice coming from their side and their eyes widened as they saw Crystal standing there with a smile on her face. "Nice to know you thought I couldn't make it."

DanDan opened her mouth but nothing came out as they stared at her in shock.

"You're alive!" Makino breathed out in disbelief.

"Yeah," She said nodding her head, before turning her head slightly and waving her hand towards her. "Plus something more."

Sabo came out of the tree's and stood next to her as jaws dropped and mouths were covered. He looked at them and gave a shy smile as he did a quick wave with his hand.

"But how?" Dogra exclaimed as he stared at the two.

Ace walked over and put his arm around Crystal showing them she was real, then laughed as they still stood there frozen in shock. "It's a long explanation.

"Well get to explaining then!" DanDan yelled. "I want to know how this is possible, before I seriously regret hitting that stupid Garp!"

"Oh!" Crystal said turning in Ace's arm as she waved her hand furiously towards them as she smiled goofily towards her family. "DanDan, Makino, this is my sister Sakura, and my best friend Lily." She told them as they walked up next, and once again their bodies froze as they stared from Crystal to Sakura and back again a dozen times.

"Start explaining," Makino says turning serious as she puts her hands on her hips.

Luffy laughed as he raced inside the house and was followed by the others. Ace sighed as he started to explain what happened, then let Sabo explain his story on how Crystal helped him. The room stayed quiet as everyone processed the explanation and let it sink in.

"Wow," Makino finally breathed out. "To think you were that powerful."

Crystal dipped her head down as she was afraid to meet anyone's eyes. Her eyes widened as Makino rushed forward and finally gave her the hug she had been holding back. Crystal let out a short laugh as she hugged Makino back. She hugged Sabo, then went to Sakura and Lily in greeting.

"It's good to see you're all alright." She told them with a gentle smile.

"So why are you here now?" DanDan asked.

"What we can't come and say 'Hi' to you?" Sabo joked. "I guess you didn't want to see us then."

"Of course I'm glad to see you're okay!" She yelled at them. "But why did you stop your sailing to come all the way back here?"

Ace looked at DanDan before a sad smile crossed his face and he looked at Crystal. "We needed a break, and a place for Crystal to be safe."

"What do you mean?" Dogra asked confused.

Crystal looked at Ace questioningly as he nodded his head to her telling her it was alright. She sighed as she touched her necklace, activating her powers to come out slowly. An audible gasp came throughout the room as the black mark showed up on her neck, yet now the mark snaked its way up her neck to her jaw and down her shoulder to her elbow, the marks had slipped down slightly onto her chest and back, letting it move as if it was alive.

"What IS that?" Makino gasped as she stepped forward and reached out a hand before pulling it back.

"My parents are after me again," Crystal confessed. "But this time they want me dead." She watched as the room began to fidget. "Some of their people came and injected me with some kind of poison."  
"They gave her six months to go to her parents in order to be saved." Ace said as he protectively put an arm around Crystal as her powers died down.

"That was a month ago." Sabo chipped in.

"I just don't see why being here will help!" Sakura finally burst out as her pent up anger and worry was let out. "We should be finding some antidote! Or going to our parents to somehow save her!"

"Sakura," Lily said softly touching her arm.

"Exactly," Crystal said smirking towards her sister. "The one thing I remember is there were always a lot of pirates coming here."

"So?" Sakura snapped not seeing the relevance.

"So," Crystal said smiling. "We can get information out of them."

Dawning crossed over her face as she finally realized what Crystal was talking about.

"So," Ace said clapping his hands. "How about we show you the rest of our family?"

Crystal smirked with Luffy as they ushered the bandits and Makino out of the mountains and down to the village.

"Daddy!" Crystal yelled as she ran and hugged her father. "Meet DanDan, Makino, and the bandits! They're the ones who helped raise me, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy!"

"Hey!" Tadao said walking up and extending his hand towards them. "I'm Crystal's future husband!"

Crystal punched him on the head as Akira elbowed him in the ribs, Sakura twisted his arm back, and Lily kicked him in the shin.

"She is not!" The girl's yelled.

"I am not!" Crystal yelled at the same time.

The bar filled with laughter from the comedy show.

"It's nice to meet the one's who had to put up with all of them!" Whitebeard guffawed.

"Hey!" Crystal, Sabo, Luffy, and Ace said as they looked accusingly at the big man.

They stayed there for a couple days as everyone relaxed and Crystal tried to get any information she could on her parents and what they are up to. Though that was the main mission, they couldn't help but have fun with their family, old and new, as they tried to spend as much time as they could. When the time came for them to leave, Crystal hung onto Makino with an apologetic smile.

"We'll visit again soon! I promise." Crystal told them as she backed up and waved goodbye.

"Did you get all you need?" DanDan asked grumpily, trying not to feel sad at their leaving.

"Yeah," She told them with a nod. "I think I have a good idea."

"Well then," She said standing her ground and jutting her shin out. "Get your butts outta here! We don't need no trouble!"

"Love you too DanDan!" Ace and Crystal said chuckling.

"Just you wait! Next time you see me I'll be the Pirate King!" Luffy shouted with his goofy smile and laugh.

They set sail as they all said their goodbye's.

"Hopefully we can solve this," Akira said with a smile.

Crystal finally looked at Akira and noticed she had cut her hair boy short and left two long strands in the front by her face. "I can't believe you cut your hair."

"Yeah? Well, I got tired of everyone comparing me with you." Akira said huffing as she placed her hands on her hips and pushed her chin out.

"Heya sexy!"

Crystal turned around as she noticed another pirate ship sailing up next to them. "Ugh! I really don't want to deal with this now."

"Let me handle them," Mayumi said putting her hand on Crystal's shoulder and smiling.

Mayumi stepped up and smiled as a hum came from her lips before a gentle lulling song drifted from her lips. Crystal arched an eyebrow as the pirates swayed back and forth to the song before turning zombie like and turning, controlling their ship to turn and sail the opposite way as them.

"That…was…awesome!" Luffy shouted as she stopped singing. "You have to join my crew!"

"Sorry squirt," Thatch said smirking as he snaked his arm around Mayumi's waist. "She stays with me."

Luffy deflated as he pouted, walking to his crew.

"Careful, she'll put you in a trance." Sakura teased.

"She already has," Thatch said as he smirked then leaned down and kissed Mayumi.

Everyone's jaws dropped as they watched in embarrassment.

"That's a surprise," Lily said blushing.

"The girl's percentage on this ship is rising." Vista said with a laugh.

"If only there were girl's for all of us!" Jozu joked as they other's laughed and agreed.

"Come on, even the newcomer has a girl already!" Another one joined in.

Sabo smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows at them and wrapped his arms around Lily. Marco turned mischievous as he pulled Sakura over and close as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Don't be jealous. After all, there are the nurses." Ace said with a small chuckle.

Crystal watched as he leaned down towards her, expecting him to kiss her, but was disappointed as he kissed her forehead instead. She looked ahead and saw Sakura raising an eyebrow at her, making Crystal put on a smile quickly and turn her attention to Akira.

"So how are you two doing?" She added suggestively.

Akira smirked as she jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You know, doing this and that."

"Oh, really?" Crystal tempted. Her attention snapped as she looked around. "Where's my brother?"

Luffy smirked guiltily as Crystal stared him down. "He said he wanted to try and look for Takeru, so he left the ship for awhile."

"You let him leave!" Crystal said pulling herself away from Ace and shaking Luffy like crazy.

She hung her head as a sigh escaped and she let Luffy drop from her hold. "Ay, I can't believe you let him do that!"

"Sorry," Luffy said laughing.

"How can you laugh at this?" Crystal sighed.

"He's not a child anymore," Nami suggested helping her captain.

"I know," Crystal said rubbing her neck. "But he's still my little brother."

"Crystal has always been protective." Sakura said with a giggle. "Now, how about all of us girl's just have some time together."

"That doesn't sound too good." Marco joked.

"Yeah, putting them all together means major trouble." Thatch agreed with a laugh till Mayumi elbowed him in the ribs.

The girl's giggled as they walked over to Crystal and dragged her along towards the rooms. Even Nami and Robin joined them once they caught onto why Sakura wanted to have a girl's time.

"Why are you guys dragging me?" Crystal asked.

"Why are you and Ace so…." Nami asked waving her hands around.

"Distanced." Robin continued for her.

Crystal froze as she looked at the girl's nodding their heads in agreement. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. He acts as if I'm going to break now."

"Because of what happened." Akira said understanding.

"I get it. He's worried that after that poison, you may be more frail now." Mayumi agreed.

"I was wondering what was going on." Sakura said.

Lily nodded. "After all he wouldn't wait a second to just plant one on you."

Crystal blushed as she sat down. "Honestly, I don't feel bad at all." She let out a small laugh as she saw all of them give her the disbelieving look. "Really, there are just moments when it hurts. But then they tend to go just as quick."

"Maybe you just need to show him you're not fragile." Nami said with a smirk.

Crystal opened her mouth as her face turned beet red.

"Don't even try to say you can't." Sakura argued. "I've seen how you two are."

She wanted to argue against them but stopped as they stared at her to shut her up quickly. "Fine."

"Good," Mayumi said. "Just use your feminine powers to do it." She shay shayed her hips.

"Tonight would be the best time." Robin said smirking.

"How about a little make over first?" Lily asked smirking mischievously.

Crystal backed up slowly as she tried to reach the door first, but failed as they pulled her back. They searched the closets throwing clothes all over the place.

"Hold on, I have clothes that'll work." Nami said pointing her finger on her chin before pointing towards the sky. "Come on Robin."

They left to their ship, avoiding the guys' questions as they went by. They came back with some dresses and skirts. The girl's rummaged through them as they held them up and examined them by Crystal.

"This is perfect!" Sakura cheered.

The others watched as Sakura grabbed Crystal and pulled her into the bathroom. Crystal came out and the girl's smiled in agreement and victory as they saw the perfect outfit for her.

"He'll fall over when he see's how much of a girl you are." Mayumi said.

"My clothes before didn't show that?" Crystal asked accusingly as she placed her hands on her hips.

"They did, just not like this outfit does. The other made it seem as if you were boyish." Akira told her.

"Gee, thanks!" Crystal said with a laugh.

The girl's ran out onto the deck leaving Crystal to compose herself before heading out.

"What the heck were you doing in there?" Marco asked as he grabbed the bottom of Sakura's shirt.

"Nothing," Sakura said with an innocent smile, before looking at Ace and smiling playfully.

"That's not good." Thatch said patting Ace's shoulder.

"Where is Crystal-swan?" Sanji swooned.

"They probably tied her up." Zoro said with a shrug.

"Now we know who has a dirty side." Mayumi growled, making the swordsman blush.

"She's right there." Lily said as a door was heard opening then closing.

Everyone turned and stood with fixed eyes as Crystal came out in a short, light blue, summer dress. The dress ended mid thigh, and tied around her neck, her back was open and her hair was down with a light blue ribbon tied on the side. She had the same colored ribbons winding their way around her calves down to her feet, and also around her right wrist going up to her elbow. The sun was shining down on her head and made her hair a golden shine, and her eyes light up brighter than the sky.

"Crystal-swan!" Sanji shouted as he wiggled and twirled towards her.

Nami punched him on the head and dragged him away before he could reach her.

"Um," Crystal said seeing everyone frozen. "Is it alright?"

The wind blew making her let out a small 'kya' and catch her dress before it flew up and flashed everyone. Noses began to bleed as they continued to watch her in silence. The girl's busted up laughing as they Sakura and Mayumi grabbed her arms and tugged her over towards the group where everyone was sitting.

"Well, I guess if no one wants to take her." Sakura teased.

"I guess we'll have to." Mayumi chirped in.

"I want Crystal!" Chopper laughed as he skipped over and jumped into her arms.

"Feels like forever since you've let me do that!" Crystal laughed as she hugged the reindeer close to her.

"I think everyone is sick." Chopper said worriedly. "They all froze when you came out."

"Crystal-san," Brook said snapping out of it and walking up to her. "May I see your panties?"

Crystal blinked her eyes at him as the guys blushed furiously and let out a shout of how stupid he was.

"Sure," Crystal said oblivious.

She set Chopper down and grabbed the edge of her dress as she began to lift it. It was quickly yanked down by Ace as his face was red and he looked at her with a complete disbelieving look.

"You shouldn't do that!" He yelled at her.

"Why not? He asked." Crystal said looking at him confused as to why he was angry.

"You're such an idiot!" He yelled throwing his hands up in the air.

"What?" She said shocked.

"Come on Ace, don't be so harsh on her." Thatch said as he draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Yeah, I mean if she wants to show us her panties, then let her." Marco joked before Sakura kicked him in the stomach.

"That's not what I meant." Thatch said with a sigh. "She just doesn't know better."

Ace grit his teeth as he crossed his arms and stared at her. "She SHOULD know better! She's a girl! She can't defend herself if they decided to come near her!"

Crystal's mood went from excited and happy, to one of anger in less than a second as he said that. "What? So I can't defend myself now?" She let out a curt laugh. "Funny. Cause I seem to remember I'm the one who does most of the saving."

Ace dropped his arms as Thatch tried to coax her to calm down. She walked out of his grip as she walked over to Whitebeard and climbed up onto his lap before sitting there with her back to Ace.

"Damn," Ace said feeling guilty.

"Make it up to her tonight." Sakura said smirking.

"After all, you have been neglecting her feminine side lately." Akira joined in.

"All girl's have needs." Robin said.

"And by the looks of it. You haven't been keeping up with them lately." Nami teased.

Ace looked at them in shock as the words sunk in and made since.

"So you're saying you have needs too?" Marco teased as he pulled Sakura close, hoping to embarrass her.

She smirked as she pressed herself against him and tilted her head, letting her lips stop millimeters from his. "Of course. But I don't think you can fulfill them."

She wiggled out of his grasp as he stood there red faced for once, watching her walk away proudly.

"Are you guys telling the truth?" Sabo asked.

Lily looked up at him with a smile as she placed her hand in his. "Of course. All girl's have needs. They could be as simple as holding hands…"

"To more complicated things such as more intimacy." Nami added hanging suggestively over Luffy.

"Guys aren't the only ones who feel like they need intimacy. Especially if you change your acting around the girl, leaving her for more." Akira said winking to Tadao.

Whitebeard's guffaw broke up the conversation as Crystal began to laugh with him. She stood up and twirled around on his knee, letting the dress flutter and twist around her body.

"It looks very nice on you." He told her with the doting father smile.

She beamed as a smile split her face. "Really?"

"What do you know," Mayumi said smirking. "Whitebeard knows how to treat a girl better than all of you."

The guys blushed embarrassed as they watched the girls giggle then walk off to the rest of the crew. Ace tried constantly to get Crystal's attention, but she seemed to ignore him every time.

"Man, you messed up." Marco said watching Ace trailing after Crystal every where she went. "Maybe the girl's were right."

"Just relax," Thatch told him with a small laugh. "Maybe if you try an act like you're having a good time she'll come to you."

Ace perked up as he looked at Thatch and figured it was a pretty good idea. He decided to go along with Thatch's plan. The longer the day ceased and night came the more he felt it harder to hold out. He had to painstakingly watch her laugh and play with the other guys in the crew, tease and torment Luffy's crew and completely ignore him in the process. Finally as the crew slowly calmed down, and the party ended, Ace sneaked off to his room, not wanting to pass out on the deck.

Crystal's heart ached once Ace acted as if she didn't change, as if she wasn't doing to his heart, what he did to hers. She told herself she would ignore him that whole rest of the day, yet as she watched him from her peripheral vision, her heart ached worse as it yearned to feel his touch, to taste him, to smell the scent of the sun, fire, and air off his skin, and to see his smoldering eyes bore into her, as if he was seeing into her soul.

She knew his eyes were watching her every move and she was happy he was, because she felt as if she was finally getting the attention she wanted. She wanted to make him feel how she did since he started pulling back. She would push her limit as play and laughed with the other guys, teased and tormented Luffy's crewmates, and continued to ignore him. When she glanced at Ace again with a smirk on her face, it fell as she noticed he was ignoring her now.

Her heart twisted making tears want to sprout, but she held them back as she bit her lip and continued to enjoy her time with the others. She was NOT going to let him get to her, she was going to last through this time and let him suffer for a bit longer. As the crew began to calm down and fall asleep, she watched as Ace slipped off and headed to the rooms.

"You know," Whitebeard said snapping her gaze away from the doorway. "He's probably just as hurt as you are. Think how much he had to hold back, because he thought you may get hurt from the poison."

Crystal looked up at her father in understanding as she smiled looked at the doorway. "I'll let him sit for a little longer."

"Completely understandable." Her father laughed as he ruffled her hair.

Crystal walked over to the railing as she sat on the edge and looked over at the ocean, the moon's light shining on her as the wind blew through her hair.

"You know, no matter how much I look at you, you still look like an angel." Thatch said walking up to her. "I never would have thought that the first time we heard you yell 'Daddy!' that an angel like you could be a pirate."

"That's how I trick people ya know?" Crystal joked, before turning back to the moon.

"Cooling off?" Thatch asked with a smile.

"Nah, just giving Ace time to stew." Crystal told him.

"Ah," Thatch sighed. "He didn't mean to. He was just being protective."

"I figured." Crystal confessed. "But, I don't know, I guess I just hate how he's treating me as if I'm made of glass now."

"Yeah, the girls explained to us." Thatch chuckled. "How ya'll have 'needs'."

Crystal blushed as she looked at him and let out a small giggle. "Maybe so. Maybe that's why I'm so agitated."

"The other girl's seem to know how to satisfy themselves though." Thatch pointed out the girl's passed out on the deck smiling with sake bottles all around.

"Nah, they just like the attention." Crystal giggled. "Well I think I've ignore him long enough." She hoped off of the railing and waved softly to Thatch.

"I'll make sure everyone stays out here!" Thatch yelled saluting her playfully.

She blushed hard as she continued to walk towards the rooms, Thatch laughing behind her in amusement. She cracked his door open, and snuck into his room, leaning over the side of his bed to check if he was asleep. Sure enough he was passed out in the bed.

He turned over onto his back, his hair falling gently onto his face. She leaned over and brushed his hair out of his face gently, loving the way he looked when he slept, as if he was a child once again. Ace grumbled in his sleep as he cracked his eyes open and spotted her there, leaning over him.

Crystal jerked back, but was stopped as Ace tugged on her arm, making her lean over him again. She watched as his eyes smoldered into hers. Her heart sped up and she was sure he could hear it. She couldn't look away from his eyes; he pulled her face down to his and fiercely attacked her lips. He began kissing her upper, then her bottom lip before slowly biting it. Heat coursed through her body as she placed her hands on his chest and crawled on top of him.

She felt his hands wrap around her waist and flip her underneath him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, her legs wrapped on either side of him as her breathing became heavy. He attacked her neck as he kissed, and nipped across her jaw, down her neck, and across her collarbone. She turned her head to allow him access, letting out a deep sigh as she a fire coursed through her veins.

"I'm sorry," Ace whispered as he pulled back and touched her nose with his. "I should have seen how much I was neglecting your needs."

"Enough," Crystal said touching his cheek and pulling his lips back to hers. She seized his lips fervently as he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

He pulled back again as he began to breathe hard and kept his eyes closed. "But what about the poison? You've been so weak."

"You think too much," Crystal said with a smiled as she kissed his lips quickly and repeatedly a couple times. "The poison isn't making me weak. I won't break, trust me."

"I don't want to push it," Ace said as he swallowed thickly. "I can't lose you."

He cracked his eyes open, and lost it as he saw the want in her eyes, the way her body was trembling with need underneath him, and how her body pushed to be close to his.

"Don't make me say it Ace," She whispered. She arched her back putting her lips close to his. "I need this. I need you."

His control broke as he kissed her lips again before moving down her neck. His hand traced up her spine, untying her top as he kissed down her chest and to the middle. She let out a moan as she felt his kisses burn between her breasts where his lips were roaming; his other hand slid up her thigh, pushing the dress up along the way. She trailed her fingers down his chest and abdomen, his muscles rippling beneath her touch. He kissed her lips as she dragged her nails along his sides, making him groan out.

She could feel his hands slide her dress up passed her hips and up her stomach, leaving her exposed in her underwear. She reached for his belts as she quickly undid them and began to work on his shorts button, anxious to get it undone. Her dress had just slid up over her head and dropped onto the floor as a pounding was heard outside the door.

"Ignore it," Ace said as he ran his fingers up her side.

"Ace! Crystal!" Thatch yelled on the other side. "Get out here!"

"I'm gonna kill them all." Ace growled under his breath, his voice gruff in ecstasy.

Crystal groaned as she slid out from underneath him and slid her dress back on. She tied it around her neck as she slammed the door open and stepped out onto the deck with Ace right behind her.

"There better be a good reason." Crystal grumbled.

"Oh I'd say us taking you guys is a good reason." Smoker said with a sneer.

"Smoker." Crystal growled. She glared at him before turning her face into a smile. "Just the person I'm looking for."

"What?!" Marco asked shocked. "Are you crazy?"

Crystal walked passed them with a smirk on her face, not letting her eyes leaving the Marine in front of her. Sabo stuck out a hand in front of her, but she placed her hand on his arm and pushed it down from blocking her.

"So you're finally going to come with us willingly?" Smoker smirked.

"Like hell she is."Ace said walking up quickly behind her, puffing out his chest protectively.

"She is a monster!" Smoker yelled uncrossing his arms and staring down Fire Fist. "She is a nuisance to society, and a threat to the Marine's!"

Crystal gritted her teeth as her eyes turned red. She jumped onto the edge of the Moby Dick, staring off with Smoker on the edge of his. Their ship was so close all he had to do was reach out and grab her. She tightened her hands into fists. "Tell me. Why do the Marine's want ME so much?"

"Because you're a threat to this world!" Smoker told her as if it was the simplest answer.

"Why am I a threat?" Crystal shouted, making the Marine's tense behind Smoker, and equally making the pirates behind her tense for battle.

"Because you killed a Marine at MarineFord, and endangered countless lives!" Smoker growled, grabbing his weapons.

"I did so, because you were killing my family! It was self defense!" She argued.

She watched Smoker take a step back seeing her side, but not wanting to agree with her.

"You have the blood of Rin and Akito Hijiri, you were born a monster." Smoker huffed. "You have too much power for one person."

"Ha!" Crystal let out a curt laugh. "I don't argue with that! I do have too much power, but there is nothing I can do about that." She held up her hand as Whitebeard stood up, watching the Marine's pull out there guns. "Don't you know? My parents hate me, haven't you ever thought about? About why they hate me?"

"Should it matter? We, Marine's, strike to keep the world safe. And that means taking Pirates like you of the sea!"

"If you thought about it, you'd see we're not the threat!" She told him strictly. She stepped off their ship and onto theirs as she pushed her chest out, almost touching his. "You think you Marine's are all good, and doing things for the better! Yet not all your Marine's are as good as you think. Before you start accusing other's of being bad, or being a monster, do some research on your own people."

"What are you accusing us of?" Smoker sneered pressing closer.

"I'm saying that if you want to figure out who's the real corrupted one, then check up on you're in charge. Sengoku isn't as good as all of you think."

"What?" Smoker asked putting his weapon down and staring at her in confusion. "How dare you accusing him."

Crystal shook her head as she reached up and stopped as the Marine's pivoted their guns at her. The pirates behind her took up defense as they placed all their weapons on the Marine's.

"You don't have to. But I just thought you Marine's should know who Sengoku truly is." She told him as she pushed her finger against his chest. "I know there are Marine's out there doing it to help the people, and are doing it for the good, but others are only doing it out of greed, hate, revenge, and other nasty emotions. Sengoku is one of them."

She stepped back and hopped from their ship back to the Moby Dick. Ace walked up and defensively put his arm out in front of her as he stood on the railing with her.

"You think that'll stop us now?" Smoker said too long after his silence.

"No," Crystal shook her head. "But this will."

She waved her hand around in a circle before sliding it from right to left across her body. The Marine's stiffened waiting for an attack, but instead turned confused as a great gust of wind began to push their ship away from the pirate's until they were no longer seen.

"Why did you do that?" Whitebeard asked gruffly. "That was too much of a risk. Even for you."

"Because," Crystal said turning to her father, with her eyes still red, showing him how serious she was. "I know Smoker is true to his cause. He'll investigate it, then he'll see what's true."

"That doesn't answer my question." Whitebeard growled threateningly.

The others flinched, hearing their father actually angry. They stepped away not wanting to feel the wrath of his anger. Crystal instead walked forward to her father, not letting her eyes falter.

"We need as much help as we can get." She told him her voice as threatening as her fathers.

"You want the help of Marine's?" He shouted. "For what? Nothing is ever serious enough that we need the Marine's help!"

"Trust me, if it was up to me I'd do it on my own!" Crystal shouted making even her father flinch. "You told me once that I have to follow my heart. My heart right now is telling me that we need their help!"

"Why?" Whitebeard growled.

"Daddy, I'm not going to lie to you. Whatever they poisoned me with, is going to kill me either way." A sharp intake of breath was heard around the ship. "As they said, I have to see my parents. I have two choices, I go to them, or they come to us. If I had a choice I would go on my own, but I know you all well enough that if I did, you would follow after me. I can't risk losing any of you!" Tears threatened to escape her eyes. "I know my parents! If we don't have help, they'll kill us all! Why do you think I'm trying so hard to find all my siblings? Why I'm trying to get any help I can?"

Whitebeards gaze softened as he looked at his daughter whose eyes were having trouble keeping red and serious. He saw her jaw clench and unclench.

"I understand." He said reaching down and running his finger along her face as a tear fell. "I didn't realize until now how scared you actually are. How inconsiderate I am."

She shook her head at him. "I'm not scared for myself. I'm scared for all of you." She rubbed her eyes as she tried to make the tears stop. "These stupid tears, why won't they stop?"

Ace walked up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her as the tears flowed.

"I have to protect all of you. I can't let my parents win." She cried out.

"You're not alone. You have so many people on your side. Let us help." Ace said as he tightened his hold.

She wiped her tears away as she took a deep breath in and turned towards the others. "Everyone, would you be willing to help me?"

"Do you even have to ask that?" Marco chuckled.

"Of course we'd help you!" Thatch agreed.

Shouts of agreement were heard all around as smiles broke out.

"Well then," Crystal said with a wide smile. "Tomorrow we need to kick it into overdrive. Because if we're fighting my parents, then we'll need to work on fighting!"


	28. Daddy's Anger

**All rights to One Piece and it's characters goes to Eiichiro Oda, my OC's belong to me, and Mayumi belongs to my good friend on .com chien16youkai!**

**Again, please message me about the lemon deal. I would love some feedback on what you think!**

* * *

Smoker couldn't help but feel the words Crystal said affect him. For a pirate to say such things, there had to be a reason or proof for it. He wouldn't admit it to his men, but the second they made it back to base, he was going to figure out the truth, and show her that Sengoku is as righteous as they all think. Fear crept into him for the slight chance that she could be right.

"Nonsense," He grumbled to himself. "They're just trying to mess with us."

Crystal plopped onto the bed once again next to Ace, as a sigh of irritation escaped her lips.

"I'm going to kill them all," Ace grumbled again, groggy from being woken up, then interrupted.

"Kill them tomorrow in the lessons." Crystal let out a little laugh.

"They always have the perfect timing to interrupt." He said taking his arm off his eyes and turning to look at her.

She looked at him and took an intake of breath at his eyes burning into her with intense heat. "If it helps, Thatch was actually on our side. He said he would keep any of the crew away till morning." She smirked at him as she rolled and crawled on top of him, laying her body parallel to his, and lying her head in the nape of his neck.

"Maybe I'll have to thank him then," Ace chuckled.

Ace rolled on his side, taking Crystal with him as he cupped her neck and pulled her towards him. He gently laid his lips on hers, feeling the heat once again rise up in them.

"They always leave me in a painful state when they interrupt," Ace breathed out with a coy smile on his lips.

"Shut up," Crystal whispered with a short laugh.

She pushed her body against his, letting him trail his fingers down her sides, and catch the edge of her dress. He tugged it up slowly as he parted her mouth with his own, and taking the moment to slip his tongue into her mouth. She wrestled his tongue, fighting it for the dominance, and making him growl playfully. She let him win as he left her mouth and nipped at her neck and collarbone. Her breath hitched as he hit a soft spot, making him smile and bite harder before sucking on the same spot, leaving behind a small red spot.

"Oi! I'm coming in!" Sakura yelled as she banged her fist on the door.

"I'm gonna kill her," Crystal breathed this time.

The door opened just as Ace groaned out and rolled off the bed unwillingly. Sakura walked in with a big smile as she saw Crystal lying there with her arm over her head. Of course she noticed the disheveled looks they both had, how Crystal's dress was up higher on her leg, how Ace's hair was more messed up, and how both were flushed and breathing deeply.

"Where are you going?" She teased Ace.

"To take a cold shower." He grumbled. "Since you guys seem to LOVE to interrupt."

"Sorry," Sakura said with a shy smile once Ace shut the door.

"I'm gonna have to kill you," Crystal groaned as her sister laid down next to her.

"I said sorry," Sakura pouted. "Besides I thought ya'll would have already done it!"

"Well it seems we can't because you guys have perfect timing to interrupt." Crystal said turning on her side to face Sakura. "But enough about me. When are you going to make your move on Marco?"

Sakura blushed as she reeled back from her sister. "W-what are y-you talking ab-bout?"

"Don't try to hide it." She said with a mischievous smirk. "I can tell you like him. I've never seen you so teasing with a guy."

"You forget I'm not like you. I tease and get close to a lot of guys." Sakura argued huffing.

"Yeah, but not like that." Crystal kept on as she crawled forward on her hands and knees.

Sakura backed up more and more as her sister kept pushing forward, until Crystal had placed her hands on either side of her sister and grinned sadistically. Sakura pushed back, but ended up bring the two of them over the edge of the bed with a loud bang.

"What the heck is going o…" Marco yelled as most of the crew watched behind him. "What are you two doing?"

"What was that noise?" Ace asked coming out of the shower. His shorts hanging loosely from his hips without the belts being there to help them stay up.

"How about you ask them." Marco said pointing to the side of the bed they could see and Ace was blocked from.

He came around the bed and froze, looking at the two sisters on the floor.

"O ho ho ho! White panties!" Brooke laughed behind the others outside the room.

Crystal was on top of Sakura, their faces millimeters apart as they both rubbed their heads from the impact. Sakura's shirt was pushed up, showing a bit of her bra as her capris were pushed down low on her hips. Crystal's dress had slipped up and over her butt, showing off her panties, and her cleavage was showing majorly as the sudden movement had moved her boobs slightly out of their places. Their legs were entwined with each other, as their knees were precariously placed at each others crotches, and their bodies were pressed against each other, with their chests bulging against each other's, helping the cleavage factor upon that.

"I'm going back to the cold shower," Ace said turning on his heel and walking back.

"Hey! Wait!" Crystal said getting up finally. "Ow," She grumbled rubbing her head and catching the bed from the dizziness. "It's not what you think."

"They're just having a little sisterly love." Marco teased.

Crystal groaned as Ace walked into the bathroom and shut the door, as everyone could hear the water turn on. She shook her head as she walked back and grabbed Sakura off the floor, helping her up and steadying her from the same dizziness the crash must have provoked.

"Take her," Crystal said offering her sister out to him. "Make sure she lays down until she's better. After that…" Crystal said think about her words. "Do whatever you like."

Marco's jaw almost dropped, until he recovered and ushered out Sakura who was staring at her sister in embarrassment.

"Crystal-san! I love your panties!" Brooke said laughing once more.

She curtsied before shutting the door on all of them and locking it. "Why didn't we do that before?" She grumbled to herself as she placed a hand on her head.

She looked up and pushed off the door as she walked over to the bathroom, rapping on the door slightly. "Ace?"

No answer.

"Ace?" She asked louder hoping he'd answer.

Still no answer came from the bathroom.

She pushed back the nervousness and embarrassment as she twisted the knob to find it unlocked. She opened the door and instantly closed her eyes, too embarrassed at the fact Ace was in there naked. Her problem was she could see anything and ended up tripping on the discarded towel on the floor.

"Kya!" She screamed slightly as she went face first again to the ground, but caught herself just in time.

"What are you…" Ace said opening the shower door slightly. "If I knew I was going to be greeted like this every time…"

As Ace had opened the door, he was face with Crystal laying on the floor, with her butt up in the air, and panties showing once again. She flew up quickly as she covered her butt with her dress and her hands, a blush taking over her face, ears, neck, and chest quickly. She looked at him embarrassed before realizing the door was slightly see through and she turned her face away, blushing more than before.

The water was shut off behind her as she listened to Ace get out and chuckle. She grabbed his towel and handed it to him quickly. He wrapped it around himself before kneeling down and grabbing her chin. She looked at him and was quickly taken in by a kiss. She pushed against him as she tilted her head up, leaving them leaning against the shower door, with her in between his legs, her arms around his neck, and his arms around her waist.

Ace broke away first as he looked at her with love in his face and a burning intensity in his eyes. "I think the interruptions are telling us something."

"Yeah? What's that?" She asked breathless.

"That we don't need to rush it. Right now is probably not the best time for that." He said with a smile.

She groaned as she laid her head on his bare shoulder. She saw water drip down from his hair and onto his shoulder, rolling over his tanned skin. She kissed it and other's resting on his shoulder, making him shiver. "Does that mean no more kisses?"

He chuckled as he lifted her face up to his. "No, you can have all the kisses you want." He pressed his lips against hers as they had a quick make out session on the bathroom floor.

"Time for sleep," Ace said breaking away again.

"Fine," She said breathless. "I'll meet you out there."

She stood up gently as she caught her balance from her wobbly legs. Ace stood up quickly after and snagged her around the waist before kissing her again. He kissed her once on her back, close to her shoulder before letting his head lay there.

"I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met you." Ace confessed.

"I know what I'd do," She said making him look at her confused. "I would have hunted you down."

He chuckled at that before letting her go and changing into his boxers, before walking out and seeing her slip out of the dress and ribbons, before putting on his button up t-shirt and sliding into the bed. He joined her and felt complete as she took her normal spot curled up on his side.

"Ace. Wake up." Crystal chimed lightly, brushing his hair out of his face.

He grumbled as waved his arm and let it fall above his head. She frowned as she sat on his stomach and pinched his nose while covering his mouth with the other. His eyes pinched together as his chest tried to lift up and take some air in. His eyes shot open as he shot up into the air, making her fall onto her back with her legs on either side of his waist.

He looked down at her in confusion then with a smirk. "This is some wake up call," He kissed her on the forehead. "But I'm going back to bed." He flopped back onto his pillow once again, trying to go back to bed.

Crystal didn't give up so easily as she sat back on his stomach, and braced her hands against his chest. "Ace! Wake up! We have lessons to do! And I need your help!"

"What do I get in return?" He asked with a chuckle.

"You are extremely perverted today." Crystal laughed. She leaned down on her arms as she kissed his nose, then his forehead, then his eyes, cheeks, and finally his lips. She nuzzled his neck as she lightly nibbled on his ear. "You're the one who said no to do anything yet."

She got off of him, making him groan, and she helped him up slowly off the bed, urging him to get ready. She told him she'd meet him outside, then walked out.

"Okay! How about we start with seeing what you can do!" Crystal said with a sly smile.

"I wanna go first!" Luffy offered excitedly.

She nodded her head as she braced for a fight and waved him forward. Luffy charged forward quickly, grabbing his arm ready for an attack.

"Gomu Gomu No Pistol!" Luffy yelled shooting his arm quickly.

Crystal tilted her head dodging the hit effectively. Before he could pull it back she grabbed it with one hand, making him shoot forward towards her. She kicked him in the stomach and let go of his arms, sending him across the deck. He hit the wall just as Ace opened the door from the rooms.

"She beat you again Luffy?" Ace chuckled.

"It was a lucky shot!" He grumbled.

"Me next," Sabo said smiling.

He charged her quickly before she readied herself. She jumped to the side as Sabo kicked out at her. He cloned himself quickly surrounding her completely. One by one they attack her. She kicked, hit, slammed, and pushed at them repeatedly until each one disappeared. She hadn't moved from her spot as she took them down one by one. Finally the real Sabo charged at her and she grabbed his arm quickly before twisting it behind him and slamming him to the floor. She sat on his back, pinning him to the floor as she finally looked around the deck to the people holding back smiles and laughs.

"See? This is why we need to teach you." Crystal said getting off Sabo and helping him up. "This is me without using my powers. Think of how my parents will be. They are five times worse than me, and I can guarantee, you have no chance."

She looked around at everyone until she sighed from everyone giving her confused to irritated looks. She motioned for her sister to come forward and stand next to her.

"Takeru taught us how to defend ourselves, but he taught us to better improve our senses." She looked around and still saw confused looks all around. "As people, we rely more on our sense of sight than anything else. We need to improve every other sense, including your animal instinct."  
"Animal instinct?" Marco asked with a chuckle. "You mean we need to learn how to be good in bed?"

"No," She said strictly. "I mean the instinct of…."

"Like when you feel someone watching you. Or when you know there is something coming towards you." Sakura helped explain, understanding what their brother taught them.

"I don't need lessons on that! I already know how to use those." Zoro grumbled.

"So you're saying you don't need lessons?" Crystal asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or you're pride won't let you learn from a girl?"

Zoro flinched as he opened his eyes and looked at Crystal, but reeled back more when he saw her smiling at him.

"Come then." Crystal said waving her hand towards her.

"I don't fight women." He said.

"Oh, I see. You're scared that you'll lose." Crystal teased egging him on.

Zoro glared at her as he stood up and prepared his swords. Crystal smiled victoriously as she put up a finger to tell him to hold on.

"You backing out now?" He smirked, tying his bandana around his head.

"Nope," Sakura walked over and helped her put on a blindfold, clipped a pin on her nose, and put in earbud's in her ears. "Oh, by the way," Crystal said lifting the blindfold up slightly. "Don't take it easy on me. K?"

Zoro looked at her incredulously.

"Seriously don't." Sakura told him with a laugh. "She'll kick your ass if you take it easy on her."

Zoro had a stress mark appear on his forehead. He clenched his swords tighter as he rushed forward to attack. Ace tried to race forward when Sakura put her hand on his chest to stop him.

They watched as Zoro attacked relentlessly with his swords, every time set on their target that they were sure they wouldn't miss. Yet every time Crystal flitted ever so slightly away from the edge of the sword before it could hit her. She stepped on the balls of her feet as she twirled, jumped, and bent slightly away from every attack. To the other's she looked to be dancing around the attacks.

"How is she doing that?" Marco asked amazed.

"No sight," Sakura said pointing to her eyes, "No sound." Cupping her ears. "No smell." Pinching her nose. "She's relying on her instincts."

Crystal ducked down finally and pushed up under his swords putting her face almost to his. He stepped back surprised by the closeness, but couldn't brace himself when she hit his hands, smacking the swords out of his grasp and clattering on the floor. Her elbow flew up immediately after that knocking him in the chin and making that sword drop to the floor, her foot swung up as it connected with his head, flinging him to the ground and sliding across the floor. She slowly let her foot drop as she looked at him with her back straight and her head high.

Crystal pulled the earbud's out, the pincher off, and slid the blindfold off her eyes. She looked at Zoro with seriousness in her eyes.

"Don't ever let your pride keep you from becoming better. Even if it's learning from a girl! You can go out there and fight my parents like this, but you WILL die." She told him with no emotion. "What if you lost your sight? What if you couldn't hear? What if you could speak? What if you couldn't smell? What if you couldn't touch or feel?" She asked him walking forward. "What if you lost all of these?"

Everyone watched her with awe as she picked up his swords and lent her hand to him. "You're instinct will be the only thing to save your life." He took her hand and stood up as he looked her in the eyes.

"What the hell was your brother thinking when he taught you this?" Zoro joked with a chuckle.

"That my parent's would one day come and kill me." Crystal said looking out at the sea. "He wanted to make sure we knew how to defend ourselves."

Sakura walked up and held onto her hand as they looked at each other with a smile. "We'll defeat them this time."

"I know," She answered.

"Then why do you look so scared?" Sabo laughed, but stopped as he saw Crystal stare sadly at him.

"Because they're after me. Yet all of you are being dragged into this." She told them.

Ace smacked her on the back of the head as he twined his fingers through her with her other hand and smiled. "Didn't we tell you? We're all in this together. If one of us is threatened, we all come to help!"

Crystal took a deep breath as she leaned against his shoulder and squeezed his hand. She waited for him to squeeze back until she let it out and looked at everyone with a kind smile.

"Sakura, I'm going to need your help." Crystal said looking at her. "Shichiro and Takeru are going to be put against us. We know them best, we'll need to fight them."

She nodded her head as everyone gathered around and offered agreeing remarks on what Ace had said, even Luffy's crew joined in with the help.

"Okay, first things first." Crystal said clapping her hands. "No one is allowed to use a weapon or their powers for now!"

Groans and exclamations were heard all around making her laugh and look at them with her hands on her hips.

"Also! You're going to have to learn with these on!" She said showing them a blindfold.

More groans were heard, but nobody backed out as she and her sister passed them out to everyone. They continued for the rest of the day being taught how to hone in on their hearing and touch about the people around them. They took turns fighting, one with the blindfold, and the other attacking any way they could with their hands and feet. Some were really into it as they beat up on their crew mates, but learned quickly that revenge was even worse.

"Okay, that's enough!" Crystal said telling them to stop. "All of you did great today! Those who passed with go onto a different level, the rest will keep practicing tomorrow."

The week went by quickly as everyone practiced hard, from morning till night. They enjoyed the breaks for food, but it seemed the more people learned and improved on one sense the more excited they felt on how much stronger they got. As three weeks passed by, everyone was finally able to use their senses to the best they could. Yet no one was able to use their instinct alone.

"Are you sure that this instinct thing actually exists?" Marco complained.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how my brother taught this." Crystal said rubbing her forehead. She sat on the edge of the ship and closed her eyes, letting the wind brush over her. "He told me to close my eyes. To feel everything around me, see it in different colors of light. He said instinct came from strength."

"What did he do to teach you the strength you needed?" Sabo asked to try and help.

"He threw me off a cliff." Crystal said simply.

Everyone fell over in exasperation as they looked at her.

"That's not safe!" Lily yelled.

"What kind of brother would do that!" Akira yelled.

"I thought you said he was nice!" Nami complained.

"He is," Crystal laughed. "He always caught me if I couldn't get it. He would always fly down as quickly as he could and catch me."

"You're brother has powers?" Marco asked. Crystal nodded in answer as she looked at them with a smile.

Crystal gasped as she lifted her head, making everyone look at her. "Move!"

It was too late as an explosion happened behind them, flinging Crystal forward, landing into someone's arms.

"Thank you," She breathed looking up.

"Nice to see you're all right," A tall, muscled young man with spiky blond hair and dark blue eyes said with a smile. "Lil sis."

"O-onii-chan." Crystal whispered, staring up at him amazed. "Takeru-onii-chan. Is it really you?"

"Of course!" He said ruffling her hair.

"How…" Crystal began as she took a step back.

"Come on! I'm stronger than that! Of course I'd be able to get out of there!" He chuckled. "After all I taught you everything."

A smile slowly appeared on her face, as her whole body lightened up. "Nii-chan!" She jumped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Takeru smiled as he picked his sister up and spun her around in the air. Sakura ran over and did the same as Takeru held one sister in each arm smiling at them.

"How much you have grown," He said fondly as he pressed his forehead to each of theirs.

An idea formed in her head as she hopped out of his arms and stared at him affectionately. "Ne, Take, Can you help me teach the others how to use their instincts like you did for me?"

Takeru froze as he looked to be in deep thought about something. A sweat mark appeared as Crystal pushed forward. "It really depends on the person." He said scratching his chin.

Sakura jumped down as she gripped onto her sister's arm happily. "Let's celebrate!"

"Ya!" A cheer was heard all around.

Crystal quickly rushed into the kitchen to help Thatch prepare food, and bring out the sake.

"You're not going to wear an outfit?" Ace teased pulling on her shorts.

"Stop that!" Crystal laughed as she handed out bottles of sake.

"Oi! Takeru! Come drink with us!" Jozu offered up.

"Oh! Nii-chan doesn't drink…" Crystal said, but was stopped as Takeru came up and took the offered sake from them.

"Takeru never drank." Sakura said noticing the same thing.

Crystal nodded as she looked at her sister. "He never treated us like children either. But he's been doing that since he arrived."

"Maybe being with our parents changed him." Sakura offered up.

Crystal looked at her brother sadly and distracted herself with having fun, hoping to make it like it used to be.

"Oi! Crystal! Come sit next to your nii-chan!" He said patting next to him.

The night had dragged on as everyone partied and enjoyed themselves. Ace was doing a weird kind of fighting with his brothers as everyone got a good laugh.

"You have a good family here." Takeru said placing his hand over Crystal's.

Crystal gasped as a sharp electricity went through her, making her recoil from his touch and stare at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked her confused.

"Nothing," She said shaking her head. "But you are still my family. You're still my nii-chan, no matter what."

"What if I was changed by our parents, like Shichiro?" He asked making her look at him.

She shook her head. "Shichiro is still my brother, no matter what happens. I just feel bad, because I couldn't do anything to help him. I'd do anything to get Shichiro nii-chan back."

Takeru looked at her with surprise as she pulled her knees to her body. She watched from the corner of her eye as her brother reached up into his jacket and clicked something off, before turning back to her with a smile.

Crystal knew something was wrong with Takeru, but couldn't quite tell what yet. She kept it to herself as she smiled and went along with everything. Finally she wiped out leaning against Ace along with the rest of the crew who fell asleep on the deck exhausted.

Takeru opened his eyes up as he walked to the other side of the ship making sure everyone was asleep and he wouldn't be overheard.

"Entrance complete," He said taking out a snail phone and talking into it.

"Did you get close to Crystal?" A voice said on the other side.

"Yes. I will be sure to complete the mission tomorrow." Takeru confirmed.

"What about the poison?"

"I cannot tell thus far."

"Find out."

"Yes."

He clicked it off as he placed it back into his jacket and stared out at the sea. Crystal hid around the corner as she listened to the conversation. Her hand was over her mouth as she had to stifle a gasp at the other voice talking to him. It was so familiar to her, yet she couldn't figure out from where, she just knew that the voice she heard struck fear into her whole body.

She returned quickly to her spot as Takeru moved from the side of the ship. She wouldn't think of it right now.

Morning came quickly as everyone woke with a groan from the hangovers they had.

"I think we should skip the practice today." Ace offered.

"Yeah, I agree." Crystal said yawning.

"Ne, Crystal," Takeru said popping into her focus. "I want to take you somewhere."

"I don't want to go anywhere." Crystal sighed as she gave her brother a slight smile.

He frowned, but quickly recovered back to his smile, but not before Crystal realized. He grabbed her hand and started to tug her along. Again she felt the electric shock run through her, making her flinch, but couldn't get away as he held his grip on her.

"Nii-chan, Crystal needs to stay with us. It's safer." Sakura said trying to help.

"What? She's not safe with me?" Takeru joked, but his voice was somewhat irritated. "Come now, Dark Princess."

Crystal's eyes widened as she stared at Takeru with horror. Her body began to shake as she whipped her hand away from. "Who are you?" She yelled at him, holding her hand to her chest.

"I'm your brother." He said with a quirked eyebrow.

"You're not my brother!" She yelled at him.

A scowl formed on his face as he straightened up and looked at her. Takeru began to melt away leaving another person behind. Max stood there frowning at her with his eyes piercing into hers menacingly.

"You couldn't have just come with me." He said fiercely.

"Why did you look like my brother?" Sakura screamed.

Max smirked at her evilly making their blood run cold. "Because I took over him. His looks, his memories, his acting, all of him." They gasped in horror as they thought of the torture he had to go through. "Though I have to admit, for someone so close to death, he was still fighting against giving us all his memories and powers."

"Why you…" Crystal growled, her eyes turning red. She rushed forward to hit him, but stopped as he waved his finger at her.

"Like I said," He said to her as his eyes flashed red. He disappeared making everyone search.

"Crystal!" Lily screamed.

"I have part of his powers." Max said next to her ear.

She went to turn and look at him, but he placed his hand over her forehead and the other over her heart.

"Did you forget? You're brother can control your powers." Max growled.

Crystal gasped as a dark light surrounded her, and her necklace, along with Ace's, went crazy as it jerked around in the air, trying to mask the dark light with her bright one. She began to scream as pain shot through her body. The black spot appeared over her shoulder and soon began to spread the longer Max hung onto her. He was forcing Ryuuji out of her. This is how they know how to take Ryuuji, they took the one part of her brother's power that could take hers away. Her scream ended though her mouth remained in the position for a scream. She could no longer utter another scream as the pain became unbearable. Her vision was becoming blurry and she could feel her breathing slow.

Everyone watched in horror as a visible heartbeat could be seen radiating off her body. Her eyes began to turn dull and a red vapor began to mist around her and gather into his hands.

"Leave her alone!"

Mamoru came crashing down onto Max as he flew across the deck and landed on his feet. Mamoru stood facing him off as Crystal dropped to her knees and sat on the wooden deck with her legs on either side of her. Her body was slightly slumped as she stared off into the distance, as if she wasn't seeing anything at all.

"Nee-chan!" Mamoru yelled as he bent down next to her and shook her.

"You're too late," Max said laughing maniacally. He raised his hands to show them all that they were now glowing red.

"No," Sakura gasped.

"Yes! Your sister is slowly dying now!" He continued to laugh as he stared at Crystal on the floor. "I took her power from her body. And we all know that without her power, her life is gone too!"

Mamoru crouched down behind Crystal as he tried to move her behind everyone else, but she couldn't be moved as he could see the life draining out of her.

"Now, while she has that tiny bit of life left." Max said smirking at them. "I think I'll kill you all, with her power!" He waved his hand towards them until the power grew. "Ryuuji! Kill them!"

Ryuuji appeared in his silhouette form as his eyes flashed red and he growled at the pirates. He rushed forward to attack them.

"Chii!" Mamoru summoned a yellow dragon.

"Momo!" Sakura summoned a pink dragon.

"Dai!" Lily summoned an orange dragon.

"Chairo!" Sabo summoned a brown dragon.

"Haru!" Tadao summoned a gray dragon.

They all yelled at the same time summoning their dragons they were given, forming a protective barrier around Crystal and the others.

"That's not going to help!" Max shouted snapping his fingers.

The shield shatter, throwing the dragon users back against the wall, and leaving them unable to stand back up. The devil fruit users tried next, but to the same effect as the others. It seemed no one could stop Ryuuji from his rampage at them.

"Now Ryuuji," Max said looking at the fallen pirates, the ones still standing, and Crystal still sitting at the front of the group. "I want you to kill them all, but leave Crystal last."

Ryuuji thrummed with power as a huge wave followed with him towards the group. Screams of fear and horror could be heard as Whitebeard shouted for Crystal, trying to warn his daughter to run. A flash blinded everyone momentarily before dimming down.

They stared in wonder and fear as Crystal shined before them, leaving Ryuuji to stop right in front of her before he could attack any of them. His eyes softened as they no longer shone with such intensity. He nodded his head and went back into her chest, where he resided in her heart.

"What?" Max shouted. "No! Ryuuji! I command you come back out here and kill all of them!"

Ryuuji came back out, but in his human form, and not his silhouette. "I do not take commands from the likes of you. She is my master, and forever will remain that way. I will not harm her."

"Then kill them!" Max yelled irritated and overflowing with fury.

"Her wish is to keep them safe." He said glancing at Crystal.

"She mostly dead! How can she wish that?" He asked infuriated.

"She wished it as you were killing her. She doesn't care about herself, but wishes to help the others." Ryuuji said with a growl, telling Max to back off.

Crystal gently began to stand as her body was enveloped with white light, the same as when she fought against Blackbeard. She looked up and made Max flinch at the intense light in her eyes. Her clothes had changed into the light blue dress she wore weeks ago, with the ribbons and all. A breeze blew around her that no one else felt, blowing her hair around her, yet out of her face, along with her dress that flowed around her gently.

"You wanted Hikari No Tenshi." Ryuuji said smirking. "Well you got her."

Crystal lifted her hand slowly before pushing her palm out, sending slicing wind at Max and carving him up till he dropped to the floor, unable to stand any longer.

"Please," Max pleaded. "I beg of you, don't kill me."

"I seem to remember hearing that once before." Ryuuji growled. "She may not kill you, but this time I WILL."

Crystal stood there as she watched Ryuuji shift back into a dragon and slice Max to ribbons, leaving him in pain and screaming. He bit his head to finally silence him before letting him go and tossing him into the oceans, before the Sea Kings came and swallowed him up. Ryuuji shifted back into his human self as he spat out blood disgusted.

"He even tasted of evil." Ryuuji complained as he wiped his mouth.

"How?" Sabo asked with wide eyes.

"I hate to admit it," Ryuuji said. "But I've grown fond of the girl. Who would have thought, the most powerful and evil dragon would turn good for a little girl?"

Ryuuji looked down at himself in confusion as he began to blur in and out. He became see through when he finally looked up and saw the outfit on Crystal change back to her shorts and bikini top.

"Shit," Ryuuji said rushing forward. "Crystal!"

He was too late as he disappeared and the light ran out of Crystal's body, leaving her eyes dark and empty. She collapsed to the floor, making Mamoru and Sakura rush forward to their sister.

"Oi! Nee-chan! Wake up!" Mamoru yelled picking her head up and shaking her.

"Crystal!" Sakura screamed.

"Boris!" Sabo yelled as he kneeled on the other side of Crystal and looked around for the doctor.

Chopper rushed forward and began to look over Crystal with a worried gaze, taking her vitals, hoping to place what's wrong quickly to solve it.

"Shit," Boris said looking at her eyes as he pried one open. "This isn't good."

"What's going on?" Chopper asked as he looked for any wounds on her.

"It's as he said," Boris said looking over her more closely. "She is dying. Without her power, she had no life."

"But Ryuuji is back in her!" Tadao yelled at him.

He shook his head, not wanting to fight. "Even so, he left her body. Her heart began to stop once he did."

Ace crumpled down as he looked at her limp body lying in her brothers arms. Most of the pirates were on the verge of tears as they stared down at her.

_A kiss can give her the energy and life she needs._

He didn't know where the voice came from but he knew that what it said was true. Boris had once told him that was all she needed to become better faster. He pushed himself up off the floor before rushing over to her body and kneeling over her lain down body. He nudge the people out of the way as he leaned over her and his eyes roamed her face, hoping to find some trace of what was left of her.

"Please let this work." He whispered to himself.

"What are you doing?" Boris asked grumpily as Ace pushed him away.

Ace leaned down quickly and kissed her lips before anyone could stop her. Warmth spread from his chest, and he could feel it leave through his mouth. He opened his eyes and saw light coming from his body and transferring to hers as it slowly enveloped her and blew around her. The color came back into her skin, as a visible heartbeat was once again seen echoing from her body.

They stood there watching her as the light began to dim down and Ace pulled back from her lips.

"Come on," He whispered as he stared longingly at her frozen body.

"It didn't work." Luffy said sadly. "Why didn't it work?"

They looked to Boris for any kind of help, but saw that the doctor was as confused as they were as to why it didn't.

"Maybe because she wasn't alive enough to receive it herself." He offered sadly, but choked on the last bit as he looked down at her again.

"No," Lily cried as Sabo hugged her close.

Ace felt tears pushing behind his eyes as he clenched his teeth to stop them. He wasn't going to cry her last moments; he knew she wouldn't ever want that.

He picked up his hand and lightly brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheeks. How soft it still was. Her eyes shot open as she took in a deep breath and shot up into the air. She placed her hand on her chest and she breathed in and out quickly and deeply, filling her lungs with the air it needed. Once she recovered she looked up and around noticing everyone staring at her in shock and horror.

Tears flowed from the girls' eyes as they launched themselves at her, tackling her back over with how many there were.

"We should have remembered how hard it is to kill you," Marco choked out.

"I thought I was dead," Crystal said getting back up once the girl's got off. She was helped into a sitting position by Mayumi who was watching over her carefully. "I could feel my heart stop." She said placing her hand over her chest. "I could see you guys looking down at me."

"What?" Thatch asked looking at her confused.

"You were dead." Chopper said sadly with tears running down his face.

"But you're here." Boris asked trying to process it.  
She nodded at him before turning to look at Ace. "I watched as you gave me energy and life, but I knew it wouldn't help." She smiled as she brushed her fingers along his cheek like he did to her. "That touch is what brought me back. I had your energy and life, but I need the touch of the one who gave it." She wobbled as she tried to crawl over to him, but fell, landing in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he laid her head on his shoulder. "You brought me back Ace."

"They're serious then," Whitebeard growled, shocking everyone. "They are really trying to kill you."

Crystal looked down sadly as she wanted to hug her father and tell him it was okay, but didn't have the strength to do it yet.

"If it's a war they want, it's a war they'll get." Whitebeard said finally.

"What are you going to do Daddy?" Crystal asked a little worried.

He looked at her and smiled slyly. "We have many connections on the sea. And many pirate's that owe us. How about we ask for their help now?"

Crystal never thought about that. She looked up at her father and smiled. "Let's do it!"

She tried to stand up to emphasize it, but ended up falling once again.

"Tomorrow," Whitebeard told her. "Right now we don't want to risk losing you. You're not allowed to die. Not while I'm still alive. A father has to die before his daughter."

"Don't say that!" Crystal complained. "I don't want you to die!"

He smiled at her as he saw her lids droop from exhaustion. He waved Ace along and watched as the crew slowly dispersed after they made sure she was okay. Tomorrow the real battle began. They made an enemy with the worst pirate…no father… they could ever have.


	29. The Meeting

**All rights to One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda-sensei! All OC's belong to me and are solely mine, please do not use or take without asking me first. The OC Mayumi belongs to chien16youkai, one of my good friends!**

**Thank you for waiting for so long, my Calculus class has been so crazy lately, so I have had no time to actually update it. But good thing is that this is longer than the other's and I thought was getting pretty good! Just wait till the next chapter!**

* * *

Smoker couldn't believe he was listening to that stupid pirate. Here he was standing outside Sengoku's office, with his hand on the door knob, about to go in and take a look around. If he was caught it was a major offense for going through his leaders stuff.

"Why the hell am I doing this?" Smoker grunted as he sneered at himself.

He pushed the door open, not able to hold his curiousity any further. He went to the desk and began to carefully look through the drawers, riffling through papers and reading them. Most of them were requests from towns, leaders, and investors asking for help with pirates, or help with money problems. Finally he came to a drawer that was heavily locked. His brows furrowed as he looked for a key, but knew he wouldn't find one.

"What the hell could be in here?" Smoker asked himself. He found an envelope opener on the desk and grabbed it quickly.

He began to wiggle it inside the lock, trying to unlock it. When he heard a click, a smile appeared on his face making the cigar there move up and ash to fall slightly on his shoulder. Footsteps were heard outside the door making his heart race. He quickly grabbed the papers out of the drawer and read them.

"I can't believe this." Smoker whispered as his cigar dropped. He clenched his teeth and picked up his cigar, crushing it in his hand.

He folded the papers up and stuffed them into his pocket before closing the drawer and walking to the door. He peeked out to make sure the hallway was empty and saw the guards turning the corner at the end of the hallway. He snuck out and made his way towards the one person he knew was on Tenshi No Crystal's side.

"Vice Admiral Garp," Smoker said catching said person's attention.

"Oh! Smoker!" Garp said with a wide smile. He whacked Coby over the head one more time and threw Helmeppo across the yard before turning towards the Marine. "What is it you need?"

Smoker looks at Coby and Helmeppo undecidedly, but remembers how they were the ones that tried to stop Marine Ford war from happening. "You two!"

They both stood up quickly and saluted Smoker with their bodies rigid in fear and respect. "Yes Sir!"

"You know of Tenshi No Crystal?" Smoker asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tenshi No Crystal?" Helmeppo asked as he and Coby looked at each other.

"Yeah I know of her." Coby said nodded. "She sails with Luffy-san's brother Portgas D. Ace."

Coby covered his mouth quickly, knowing he may have said too much. Garp had stiffened from hearing all three of his grandchildren's name, but stood emotionless, not wanting to give any of them up.

Smoker nodded knowing that the two could be trusted. He jerked his chin for them to come over, and they reluctantly did thinking they were being punished. "I found something. Something that ruins our Marine way."

Garp looked at him confused and disbelieving, but took the papers he held out and read through them with Helmeppo and Coby reading over his shoulder.

"But if what these say is true, then…" Coby said backing up and staring at Garp in hope that Sengoku wasn't like that.

"It's even signed by him." Helmeppo said pointing out Sengoku's slight signature at the bottom.

"Where did you find these?" Garp asked gruffly.

Smoker rubbed his neck in guilt and looked down at the ground. "It was in his locked drawer."

"You stole these?" Garp asked disbelieving. He sighed loudly as he pushed the papers in his pocket and stared at Smoker. "You know we can't use these to prosecute him then. They're technically stolen."

"I don't want to prosecute him." Smoker argued. "Besides I already know that even if we try, he'll just use his powers to get out of it."

"True," Garp laughed. "Then what did you want to do?"

"If we can't get the authority to help us," Smoker explained with a smirk. "Then we'll get the people to help us."

"The people?" Coby asked confused.

"If Sengoku wants to be on their side, then I'm going on a side of my own." Smoker said nodding. "One that is stronger. One that can defeat his."

"You don't mean…" Helmeppo said, cutting off in exasperation.

Garp stared with narrowed eyes at Smoker as he crosses his arms over his chest. Smoker stared straight in his eyes, not backing down.

"Garp!" Coby begged his vice admiral.

"You're going to need help," Garp gruffed. Coby and Helmeppo looked at him in disbelief.

Smoker smiled. "It's why I came to you."

Garp let out a sigh as he dropped his arms and looked at his watch. "Go to your ship. I'll send all the people I know that'll be on our side. What about your men?"

"My men will stand by me no matter what." Smoker nodded.

Garp nodded in answer, waving his hands to dismiss the Marine. He turned to the other two and looked at them seriously. "You two want to fight too?"

Coby looked worried and ready to back out, but remembered how wrong he knew Marine Ford was, and how wrong some of the Marine's were, such as Axe Hand Morgan that bullied the town he was suppose to watch over. He looked at the papers slightly sticking out of Garp's pocket and nodded his head, saluting to Garp in respect. Helmeppo followed soon after as they walked off to help Garp find anybody to work on their side.

"I knew this would come sooner or later."

Garp turned quickly to see Admiral Aokiji standing there with a smirk on his lips.

"I was wondering when someone would find those papers." Aokiji said nodding to the papers in the Vice Admiral's pocket.

"Oh~ Someone found the papers~" Admiral Kizaru said walking up.

"I guess we'll have to do something about this." Aokiji said looking at Kizaru.

"Crystal," Ace whispered lightly shaking her shoulder.

She groaned as she turned the other way and faced him. She cracked her eyes open and looked up at Ace with a smile as he gently pushed her hair out of her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her on her forehead before sitting back up.

"It's time to wake up." He whispered smiling back at her.

She groaned again. "What time is it?"

"It's almost noon," Ace chuckled.

She sat up quickly looking around. She saw the door slightly open and saw the sun coming through it. She looked at Ace in disbelief; she had never slept this long before.

"You were tired. You needed to catch up with your sleep and energy." Ace said brushing her cheek lovingly. "I didn't want to wake you up."

Crystal raised her arms above her head and stretched the muscle's that felt like jello. She let out a relieved moan as she smiled and placed her arms down.

"You should sleep some more." Ace chuckled running his thumb under her eye where the water accumulated from yawning.

"I don't wanna," She said pouting.

Ace smirked and laid down onto the bed, before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him. He felt her nuzzle her nose into his neck and nibble on the end of his ear making him groan. She giggled before kissing his jaw-line and lying back down. He rolled onto his back, letting her lay on top of him.

He reveled in the feel of her skin from her bare shoulders, arms, and legs brushing against him. He loved how she only slept in his shirt every night, showing she was his. He tightened his hold around her and pressed his nose into her hair, smelling the natural scent of sakura blossoms coming off of her. He never understood why she always smelled like that; she never used perfume, and neither her soap, shampoo, or lotion where scented like it.

He let out a content sigh as he kissed her head, and listened as her breaths became heavy and even once again, telling him she went back to sleep. He had been checking up on her all night long, making sure she was okay and still breathing. He was so scared that he was going to lose her. Yet at the same time he was livid with how her parents had taken it so far as to try and kill her with them around, and they couldn't do a thing about it. He hated feeling weak, yet here he was unable to do anything for her. It's been twice now that he almost lost her; he wasn't going to have that again.

"Oi!" Mayumi yelled slamming the door open, with a smile and her hand up in the air. "Wake up you lazy butts!"

Ace groaned inwardly as he acted he didn't hear her. That didn't stop her. She smirked evilly as she walked over and jabbed him in the chest with her finger.

"What the hell?" He yelled at her shooting up as he placed a hand over his chest.

Crystal lolled backwards with the momentum from him sitting up so suddenly. Mayumi reached forward quickly and scooped Crystal up as if she were a pillow.

"Well, I'll be kidnapping her then since you won't wake up." Mayumi smiled mischievously.

"Oi! Chotomatte!" Ace yelled at her. "I was getting up!"

Crystal looked back at Ace as her eyes opened and she felt the slight bob of Mayumi walking. "What are you doing?" She asked said girl groggily. "Put me down."

"Nope!" Mayumi said throwing Crystal over her shoulder.

"Hey!" Crystal said her face flushing red. "I need to put some clothes on MAYUMI!"

Mayumi finally stopped and noticed said pirate was only wearing a shirt that was barely covering her but right then. "Ah, right." Mayumi set her down and watched as Crystal hurriedly slipped on her clothes, and at the same time ushered Ace to get out of bed and get dressed as well.

"Why did you wake her up?" Ace asked irritated. He grabbed Crystal's hand and let his fingers run through hers. "She needed the rest."

"Because we're about to dock." Lily said walking up just as they exited the hallway and onto the deck.

"Is it me or do your shorts seem even shorter than they usually are?" Sabo teased tugging on her shorts.

Crystal laughed as she swatted his hand away. "They're the same as always."

"Where are the others?" Ace asked searching the deck but finding no one there.

"They're already down on the ground trying to get in." Sabo sighed.

"Trying?" Crystal asked.

She looked at them and proceeded to walk towards the dock as the others followed after her. They jumped off the ship and watched as the crew argued with two big burly me, double the size of Whitebeard.

"Why won't you let us in?" Marco argued infuriated.

"We won't allow such pirates to enter here." One of the gate keepers said with no emotion.

Crystal watched as they argued back and forth, until she looked closely and realized she recognized the people. She smirked as she walked forward, pushing past the others, and leaving Ace, Sabo, Lily, and Mayumi following her quickly.

"What's going on?" Sabo questioned in a whisper.

"They won't let us in because we're part of the Whitebeard Pirates." Sakura growled, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.

Crystal looked up at her father and saw the tension in his neck and jaw. The others were growing more angry by the second as the guards continued to deny them entrance.

"Let us in!" Crystal finally yelled demandingly. "I command you!"

That caught the guards' attentions as the tensed up and looked for the owner whom the command came from. "Who dare's order us!"

Crystal stepped forward out of Ace's reach until she was standing in front of everyone and facing the guards dead on. "I do! I order you to let us in by command of me! Princess Hijiri Hikari Crystal!" As she said this she grabbed the ribbon holding her hair up and pulled it out, letting her hair fly out and around her in the wind.

The guards whom were furious at first by watching this girl command them, finally recognized her as her hair flew down and framed her face. Her whole look changed as she let her hair down, leaving the guards stunned at who was standing there before them.

"Princess!" One yelled as he quickly bowed and looked back up. "What are you doing here? We thought you were dead!"

"I'm not!" Crystal yelled glaring at them. "And I'm not taking it too kindly to how you're treating my family."

"You're family? You're still with the Whitebeard pirates?" The other asked as his eyes bugged out.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Crystal accused, placing her hands on her hips. She let out a deep sigh, releasing her frustration out. She waved her hand in front of her, dismissing the guards. "Hurry up and let us in."

"But," One started to argue till she raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Irie doesn't want anything to do with the Whitebeard pirates."

"I think he'll change his mind." Crystal told them. "I highly doubt he'd tell me to leave."

"Princess…" The other pitched in with exasperation.

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at them hard and placed her hands on her hips again. "I'm not going to say it again. Let…us…in…"

An audible gulp came from both of them as they nodded their heads and opened the gates for them. Crystal strolled past them without a word, turning around briefly to wave the others to follow her.

The island was a beautiful place, with a spa resort, giant pool, amusement park, water resort, palace, and many shops and restaurants of every kind. The island belonged to the Irie family who got their money off the people who came here to have fun and relax. The palace was used for rooming and board to those who came onto the island. Everyone was welcome here; Pirate's, citizens, visitors, and Marine's. The island was a neutral place where no fighting was allowed, and everyone was considered equal; yet this was the first time that someone was banned from entering.

"I thought I told those stupid gate keepers to keep all Whitebeard pirates out!" A voice shouted behind them as they enter the palace in the middle of the island.

The crew turned and glared at the man standing before them.

"I don't want any of your crew here ever again!" The man said. He had orange hair and gold eyes, with an air of superiority to him.

Crystal walked up around them secretly as a dark cloud loomed over her.

"Why should we listen to you?" Sakura asked from in the crowd.

"Why? Who wouldn't listen to me?" The man said haughtily. "You should all listen to me! Especially since you're nothing but filthy pirates!"

"HI…KA…RU!" Crystal growled slamming her fist onto his head. "ENOUGH!"

"Who dare's hit me?" Hikaru shouted finally looking up. He froze as Crystal had her fists placed on either hip, her eyes narrowed, and chin out, staring directly at Hikaru with anger plain on her face. "Crystal?" He looked her up and down, making sure she looked like the Princess he had met long ago.

He reached forward and grabbed each breast in his hands, squeezing them lightly and repeatedly. "Yep, definitely Crystal."

Crystal's face reddened as she smacked him across the face sending him sprawling and at the same time fire appeared on the end of his hair. Her eye twitched as she wrapped her arms around her chest defensively and glared at Hikaru.

"This is why I hate coming near you!" Crystal shouted making him flinch back away from her. "You're always a pervert, grabbing me, and you always act like you're above others!"

"Is that why you wouldn't marry me?" Hikaru asked with hurt and disappointment in his voice.

The other's drained in color as their arms shot into the air, their eyes bugged out, their nose dripped, and their mouths hung open. "EHHHHHHHHH!"

"Yes," Crystal said simply not affected in the least. "I hate men like you. That's why I didn't want to marry you."

Crystal turned her back on him as he looked up at her with puppy dog eyes. She wrapped her arms around Ace's back and pressed her forehead into his chest. "Why is it that everyone goes for my chest?" She whined.

Ace looked up and watched as Hikaru went from the pleading eyes to a rock hard glare at Ace.

"I'm guessing that's not all." Hikaru said with a sigh as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm guessing this is the Ace you mentioned in the last letter you sent me?"

"It probably is." Sabo answered for her.

"After all, Crystal and Ace are in love with each other." Sakura said stepping up.

Hikaru's eyes widened as he looked from Crystal to Sakura, before he understood what was going on. "Ah, I see." He rubbed his neck quiltily. "I guess I can't do anything about that then. You're welcome here then. Please enjoy yourselves."

He walked off with his hands in his pockets before anyone could say another word.

"Mau! He's such an idiot!" Crystal groaned letting Ace go. She turned her attention to her father and looked at him questioningly. "So why was it so important that we get in here?"

Whitebeard looked at her with a smile as he patted her head. "I called a meeting here with some of the best people I know."

"What for?" Lily asked.

"Oyaji calling a meeting? He must be serious." Thatch murmured.

"If we're having a war with Rin and Akito, we're going to need all the help we can get!" He laughed.

"Oh no," Crystal breathed smacking her forehead. "Who exactly did you call upon on?"

"Just a few people." Daddy said being vague purposefully.

Crystal stared at her father, pressing to get more information, but knew he wasn't going to budge and that she'd have to find out as they came. She shook her head in defeat as she went over to the desk, ready to order rooms.

"Can you at least estimate how many people you invited?" Crystal asked her father not knowing how many for them to reserve.

"Book the rest of the palace that is left!" He told her.

She fell over in amazement and disbelief before regaining herself and pulling herself up via the counter in front of her. "You heard him."

The lady nodded warily as she looked over her booklet. "Will you be paying for it all?"

"No I'll pay for our crew, and we'll have to see about the rest. But if you can reserve the rooms for now till they arrive." She told them laying her head in her hands.

"Oyaji seems to enjoy tormenting you when he isn't doting." Ace laughed rubbing her back.

"You said it." She sighed looking up at him. She couldn't help the smile that went over her face as he smiled goofily at her.

"Whitebeard!" A voice boomed behind them happily.

Crystal turned to see Jinbe standing in the doorway with a smile apparent on his face. "Crystal-san! Ace-san!"

Crystal's smile grew wider as she ran to the fishman ex-shichibukai, and launched herself into his opened arms. "Oh! I've missed you so much!"

"As have I!" Jinbe said setting her down and looking her over. "I'm glad to see you are doing well."

"Are you okay?" Crystal asked worriedly, flitting quickly around him as she checked for any wounds that could possibly (but not likely) still be there.

Jinbe let out a soothing laugh as he placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "I am well. Thanks to you my injuries were healing quickly and effectively." He looked up and saw Ace watching them from the desk still. "Ace-san! It is good to see that you are back to full health!" Jinbe walked over and hugged the pirate quickly, and then slapped him on the back showing his affection.

"It's good to be back to full health." Ace laughed as he smiled up at the fishman he grew to know while in Impel Down.

"So, I hear you and Crystal are now a real pair!" Jinbe said making Ace smile proudly and Crystal to blush self-consciously.

No matter how much she heard it, or how much she gets closer to Ace, it still feels like a dream to her. Plus whenever someone says that, she remembers that her and Ace weren't always together and that before she never told him her feelings.

"Do you know who else may be coming?" She asked Jinbe.

He shook his head at her slightly. "I have no clue. I just got the message and came as quick as I could."

She let out a deep breath and looked at Jinbe with a smile. "Oh well."

"Jinbe!" Whitebeard said walking over to his old friend and laughing gruffly. "It's good to see you my friend!"

"Same to you!" He replied.

Crystal grabbed Ace's hand and tugged him along towards the others. They stood for awhile, listening to their captain chat with Jinbe, until they started to get restless.

"Okay," Crystal said breaking the silence. "I say we go and enjoy ourselves for awhile until the rest, of whoever Daddy called, arrives."

Cheers were heard from in the crew as they began to scatter towards restaurants, bars, the hotspring, and anywhere they could find girls.

"How 'bout it?" Crystal asked Ace as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Shall we go and have some fun? After all, once everyone arrives, it's going to be all business most likely."

Ace smirked as he leaned down and kissed her on her lips. He broke away all too soon for her liking, but she still liked it. "What kind of fun are you thinking of?"

"Now don't think like that," She giggled. "You're the one that said we shouldn't do that yet."

"Damn, me and my rational thinking." Ace chuckled.

She stepped back and tugged on his hands, coaxing him to follow her. "Come on,"

She led him out to the amusement park as they rode ride after ride. They went from the amusement park, to the water park, the restaurants, bars, then the swimming pool (with a little feminine coaxing on her part), then finished at the hotspring where they relaxed and let the day slide away.

They had just finished the hotspring and changed back into their clothes as a quiver was felt from the ground. Enough to get their attention, but not too much to do any harm to anything.

"Daddy wants us." Crystal said smiling. "I guess that means everyone is here."

Ace weaved his fingers through hers as they walked towards the palace once again. They went through the main entrance and looked around, not finding anyone there.

"This way please." The same lady who reserved the rooms said, waving her arms toward two large doors.

Crystal and Ace walked through them to find a large room, grander than the entrance, with long table's, and alcohol spread out, with pirates standing and mingling everywhere.

"Ace! Crystal!" An all too familiar voice shouted.

Crystal was searching for said strawhat when an arm looped around her and pulled her away quickly, almost giving her whiplash with the sudden movement.

"Luffy, you really need to stop doing that. You're going to break my neck." Crystal giggled. She hugged her little brother of only a couple months, feeling as if she hadn't seen him in years.

"Nee-chan!" Mamoru called out as he hugged her greatly, lifting her into the air.

"Come on, at least act like a little brother!" She laughed, lightly rapping her knuckles on his head.

"So I see you were called." Crystal said to Luffy as she spotted his crew, along with Mamoru, Tadao, and Akira standing behind him with a smile and small greetings to her.

"There are a lot of people here." Nami pointed out.

Crystal looked around the group and saw people she couldn't ever remember seeing, but knew they were famous with being allies with her father. Ace had reached her side once again after he knocked his brother over the head. She continued to look out at the crowd as she spotted Ivankov and Inazuma standing at the Champaign table talking with their followers. She could place the rest of the super nova's: Kidd, Law (Whom she personally liked for his help with Luffy), Bonney, Killer, X-Drake, Apoo, Bege, Hawkins, and Urouge. Urouge gave her the creeps, mainly because he had the wings of an angel, but the looks of a devil. But she never judge because that is how she suspected people saw her afterward when they found out who her parents were; looks of an angel, but powers of a devil. She could hear the laugh off in the distance of Buggy the clown, and wasn't surprised to find his crew, and Alvida standing there taking in his jokes and false stories.

"Luffy!" An adoring voice called out.

"Oh! Hancock!" Luffy said surprised as he waved at her.

Her eyes changed to hearts in an instant as she fantasized over his (non-existent) proposal, she hoped would come true.

"It's nice to see you again Hancock." Crystal said with a soft smile. "I owe you for keeping Luffy safe."

Hancock had glared at her at first, before realizing Crystal was Luffy's sister that helped fight at Marine Ford. "Oh! My dear sister! It's no problem! I would help Luffy even if my life depended on it!"

Crystal stared at Ace with a raised eyebrow as they both thought the same thing – sister? – she was really fooling herself with the whole Luffy is her husband.

"If it isn't the angel,"

Sand appeared around her feet making her look down before grabbing someone's water bottle and dumping it all in the sand. Crocodile appeared as the sand created his form once again, and a very pissed off look was on his face as water dripped down his head.

"No fight here," Crystal said simply flicking him in the head.

"She's right. Whitebeard would have your head." Mr. One said walking up next to Crystal and giving her a light smile.

Zoro tensed as he stared at the former enemy.

"Chill Mr. Grumpy," Crystal said with a laugh and a wave towards the swordsman. "He's on our side now."

Zoro let his stance relax, but not his mind as he kept a watchful eye on the former opponent, even as he patted Crystal's head and ushered Crocodile away.

"Luffy!"

A small kid ran up and hugged Luffy quickly, making said pirate fall back with a shout of surprise.

"Ah! Jiro!" Nami said with delight.

"Jiro, you should know better than tackle people." A man said walking up.

Crystal stared at him in fascination, mainly because of the birthmark…tattoo…burn mark…whatever it was…that adorned his face.

He turned towards her with surprise after greeting Luffy. He smiled and held his hand out to her politely. "Hello, my name is Puzzle, and the boy who almost ran into you is Jiro." He said politely. "And this is my crew." He motioned to the people behind him. She placed her hand in his, expecting a hand shake, but stood surprised as he kissed her hand and flashed a dazzling smile at her. He didn't even flinch as Ace glared daggers at his face.

"It's nice to meet you." She said recovering. "I'm guessing you know my little brother, and my father?"

"You're little brother? You're father?" Puzzle asked surprised.

"That's me!" Luffy said proudly. "I'm her little brother!"

Crystal giggled as she ruffled his hair and snatched his hat away from him.

"Ah, yes, you're brother and his crew helped us greatly." Puzzle said with a nod of thanks. "But who, may I ask, is your father?"

"Whitebeard," Crystal said tilting her head, wondering how he didn't know such a thing.

"No way! Whitebeard is your father?" Jiro asked with his mouth wide open.

She nodded her head with a smile as she watched them carefully. "Did he not invite you?" She asked them skeptically.

"You're brother asked us to come since we were nearby." Puzzle told her with surprise still flitting across his face.

She sighed as she shook her head. "Figures."

She hit him over the head before nodded them a greeting then a goodbye as they left to talk to others.

"You're father sure isn't letting anyone be left out."

Crystal saw Zoro and the others in front of her tense as the voice spoke and brought their attention. She turned as she felt Ace also tense next to her and pull her closer. She spotted Mihawk behind her, watching with his hawk-like eyes.

"I guess not if he called you here." She said calmly, making him smile admiringly.

"You don't seem worried." He stated.

"Nope," She said simply. "And it's not because all the pirates here are on my side and are friends with Daddy. It's because I know I can defeat you."

"Ah, that's right," Mihawk said. "The first person to ever defeat me, and it happened to be at Marine Ford when I was actually trying."

"Wha!" Zoro yelled behind them, making Crystal smirk and chuckle.

"Chill," She shouted back, making him pout. "I guess it's good then that I don't want to be a master swordsman."

"Too bad, you had real skill and potential." He told her turning to leave.

"No, my brother did," She told him with a smile.

She heard him chuckle quickly as he walked off to talk to Whitebeard, not caring at the glares, and stares he got from the other pirates he walked past.

Crystal was pushed slightly forward as a body hurled at her, but stood stock still as arms wrapped around her neck.

"Crystal! I missed you so!"

Crystal relaxed as she smiled brightly and turned around quickly staring at the man who helped her, Luffy, Jinbe, and the others get out of Impel Down. "Bon-chan! But how did?"

"All thanks to my magnificent skills!" He said proudly. "All I had to do was keep changing people, and I got out of there."

"I'm so glad!" She said hugging him tightly, surprising him and the others. "I was so sad when I thought they took you or worse!"

"I guess it was a good idea to invite him!" Whitebeard said walking over to her with a smile.

She nodded her head with a smile and hugged her father quickly. "Thank you!"

"There's someone else I think you'd like to see." Whitebeard smiled proudly.

"Shanks!" Luffy shouted with a smile and he lunged for the red-headed pirate who was slowly walking around Whitebeard.

"Hey Luffy!" Shanks greeted with a smile. "Sorry I didn't come when you were Pirate King! But when a meeting calls, you have to come!"

"It's nice to see you again Red-Haired Shanks," Crystal said bowing.

"Thank you again for taking care of my brother," Ace thanked him again.

"Come on," Shanks said waving their formality away. "We're family here!"

Crystal smiled and squeaked as Shanks pulled her into a hug. She missed this Shanks who used to hand around her and her father on the ship a lot. She smiled at the familiar crew behind them and couldn't hold back a laugh as Luffy dashed from one to the other, his excitement bursting out of its seams.

Shanks looked passed Crystal and smiled as his arm flew up and waved. "Oi! Rayleigh!"

"Nice to see your doing as well as every Shanks!" Rayleigh commented. "And Buggy seems to be the same also."

They laughed as they watched their former crewmate making up ridiculous stories once again to tell other people. Crystal smiled as she hugged Rayleigh and whispered a thank you to him.

"It seems you were right. I made a lot more friends and family than I ever thought I would." Crystal told him looking around the room, showing him all the people she had met.

"Is this all the people?" Crystal asked her father expectantly.

"Not quite," He answered her looking around at the people. "We're still missing one group."

"Who is it?" Ace asked Oyaji.

The doors slammed open and a hush filled the room as Crystal looked up and stared with her eyes wide at who had walked through. Monkey D. Dragon and his revolutionaries had walked through simply and were making their way down to Whitebeard.

"I'm glad you could make it!" Whitebeard greeted with a hearty laugh.

"I wouldn't miss it," Dragon replied, taking his hood down.

Dragon looked at Luffy and smirked as he patted his head lightly and affectionately.

"Ah, Oto-san," Luffy said unfazed by the sudden change.

Everyone fell over either in shock of hearing they were related, or by disbelief that he couldn't care the least, except for Ace, Sabo, Crystal, and Whitebeard.

"He's definitely your son," Whitebeard laughed as Dragon joined him.

Dragon's attention was brought to Crystal, making her stop laughing at Luffy and stare him in the eyed. She was thrown off as he suddenly smiled at her and stuck out his hand.

"I'm guessing you're the one we've gathered for," Dragon said smirking.

She clapped his hand hard as a smirk formed on her face. "I guess so. Glad to have you here."

"I can see it in your eyes. The determination, the courage, and the strength." Dragon said. "Just like your brother Takeru."

Crystal's smile dropped as she stared at the man in front of her. Mamoru and Sakura walked up through the crowd and defensively took up either side of their sister.

"He was a great man," Dragon told them, letting her hand go. "I owe him my life. The second I heard that I could help get him out of your parent's clutches, I knew I would do it."

Crystal warmed up quickly as she smiled and nodded her head appreciatively. "I'll take any help you can give."

"I have gathered you all here today!" Whitebeard said finally, breaking everyone out of their trance and bringing their attention to him. "Because of the growing danger that is coming to our Era! Rin and Akito Hijiri plan to wipe out all of the pirate nation and lead the world themselves! As I'm sure all of you have heard, my daughter Crystal, is biologically theirs! She is a Hijiri herself! Along with her sister Sakura and her brother Mamoru!" Everyone's attention's diverted to the three siblings standing next to Whitebeard. "They have two brothers! Shichiro and Takeru who their parents are controlling to break Crystal down and stop her from destroying their plans! Many of you know Takeru personally and owe him your lives! And because of that I have called you here!" Silence ran out in the room as pirates agreed on the matter Whitebeard pointed out. "We have found out that Crystal can stop their plans, and destroy the fear and destruction they have given to others! Yet now they are after her to kill her! They know she is growing stronger, and will soon be able to defeat them! They have attacked her countless time's already, and the most recent attacks have left her poisoned and nearly dead!" Gasped and hushed voices were heard throughout the room as they gossiped about the statement. "This is no longer a threat to only my daughter! Because of what they have done, it is now a threat to me! I will not stand by and let them destroy what we have created! We will show the people of the world that not all pirates are as they see us! I humbly ask you that you will stand by me and my family as we fight against Rin and Akito!"

Silence emanated throughout the room, before a shout of agreement was heard, then another, and another, before the whole room was cheering in agreement. Whitebeard looked down at Crystal and saw her shocked face as she stared at the pirates before them, who were willing to help her. She smiled as tears formed at the edge of her eyes.

"Everyone! Thank you!" She shouted. "I swear, that my parents will be taken down, and a New Era,f where Pirate's are no longer a bad name, will reign the sea's!"

Cheers were heard happily as Ace gripped her hand and they stared at the pirates who were smiling at her with pride. This war was far from over, and her parents were about to get a rude awakening if they thought she was alone in this. If they wanted a fight, they were going to get one they were most likely not going to win.


	30. Break-Up

**All rights to One Piece and it's Characters goes to Eiichiro Oda-sensei! All OC's go to me and are my creation! Mayumi is an OC that belongs to chien16youkai!**

**Sorry it took awhile, my computer was doing it's glitchy, no-charge, rebel, 'I'm not listening to you', deal. But the second it charged up, I grabbed it and typed like crazy.**

**I staid up last night to work on this and I have to say it made me feel a little hurt. I have no clue what I was thinking when I wrote this.**

**Enjoy! Review, and Comment.**

* * *

"Exactly what were you going to do with this Garp?" Kizaru asked slyly, snatching the paper out of said Marine's pocket.

"What any true Marine would do." Garp said truthfully and unwaveringly.

Aokiji smirked suspiciously as he walked down to Garp and leaned forward. "I think you have a way of finding the one who wanted this information. And if my guess is right, you'll want to lead us right to **her.**"

Garp froze as he stared at the Admirals looking down on him with suspicious smirks, and he had to use all his strength to not audibly gulp in front of them. He knew exactly why Smoker had gone looking for these papers; especially if he asked Coby and Helmeppo if they knew Tenshi No Crystal. His whole body was telling him to tell them no, that he wouldn't do it, but his heart that yearned and lived by the Marine way was telling him to tell them all he knew.

All he could do was nod, giving the Admiral's proud smiles on their faces.

Crystal slammed her hands on the table in front of her making the room – that was once full of roaring arguments – go dead silent, and for all the faces to stare at her.

"If all of you would just shut up for a couple of minutes and listen to Daddy, then we wouldn't have to keep explaining!" She yelled at them, sweeping the room to make sure she caught all of their eyes. "Now SIT!"

They automatically did as she said, sitting down in their seats and looking towards Whitebeard with reluctant faces.

"Please excuse my daughter. As you can understand she is more on edge due to this war coming up, than any of us could ever be. After all it is her life on the line." Whitebeard reasoned with them, seeing in their eyes that they agreed.

"She's one hell of a daughter though!" Dragon laughed loudly.

"If anyone could win this, it'd be Crystal!" Shanks pitched in, making her beam with pride.

The door on the other side of the room creaked open, making everyone look over with tested looks and raised eyebrows. Hikaru was on the other side, curling his finger as he looked at Crystal.

"Daddy, go on and continue." She told him patting him on the arm slightly, before walking off and following after Hikaru.

She heard her father instantly continue before she even closed the door, but didn't see the puzzled and slightly hurt look Ace was giving her as she slipped away behind the door.

"Did you get it ready?" She asked Hikaru excitedly, with a smile lighting her face.

"You know I can't say no to that smile. Of course I got it ready." He sighed back at her, but gave her a small smile to show he didn't mean anything sarcastic. "The room will be completely ready at six tonight, so before then you have to stall." He looked at his watch before handing her a little reminder with the time on it. "You only have three more hours to stall them."

She nodded happily before hugging him deeply. He stood there at first, but recovered quickly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"What are you two doing?"

Crystal jumped away from Hikaru as she turned and stared at Ace who had silently came through the door and had watched the scene.

"Um," She said searching for words. "Well you see," She looked around the room hoping to find something, as her eyes landed on the fake bowl of fruits sitting on a pedestal. "I was just asking him about the food they were going to serve tonight for us!"

Hikaru sighed quietly to himself before stepping forward and nodding his head. "That's right. She wants to make sure you guys have one of the best meals." He slipped a key into her hand for the room secretly.

But it didn't get out of Ace's view as his jaw muscle slightly twitch from curiousity as to what it was. He looked accusingly from Hikaru to Crystal and back, before giving up and nudging his head towards the door. "Oyaji finished the meeting. He's told them everything he knows and the plan."

"O-okay, I'll be in there in a minute." Crystal said with a guilty smile that Ace instantly misunderstood.

He dragged his attention away from them and walked back into the meeting room. The door shut with a clang behind him and Crystal instantly folded over as she let out a deep breath.

"I don't think I can do that again." Crystal breathed.

"You act like you haven't lied to him before." Hikaru quizzically told her.

"I haven't. At least not on purpose." She said standing up straight again. "Oh and about the supplies?"

"They're already ready and in the rooms when they go up." Hikaru answered instantly. "And I've added a little something at the end of tonight to help make it memorable."

"What is it?" Crystal asked instantly curious. It was almost as if a cat tail and ears had appeared on her head at that moment.

"It's a secret. For me to know, and you to find out." He told her with a chuckle before walking off.

Her face reddened in anger and embarrassment that she had played into his trick so easily. She went through the door quickly, trying to compose herself before facing anybody. But as she turned around she came face to face with Ace, making her suck in a breath and her heart to skip a beat.

"W-what are you d-doing so c-close to the d-door?" She stuttered trying to get her heart to slow down.

"Waiting for you," He said monotonously. He walked off before she could ask anything.

Crystal felt confused and hurt with the way he was acting. She couldn't understand why Ace just walked off sounding like that. She thought about it for a minute but couldn't place why. She sighed with difficulty and walked after him telling herself she'll ask him later.

Ace didn't mean to sound so horrid to her, but he couldn't help it. There was yet another man who supposedly had a relationship with her. And then all these men came to the meeting and instantly wanted to be near her. He had been containing his jealousy since they first arrived on the island, but seeing her walking out with Hikaru, then rushing back in with her face flushed made his jealousy spike out of control. His imagination took control of his mind as he thought of whatever could have happened while they were out there together.

He stormed passed the hallways trying to put space between him and his anger. He couldn't stand that she had some many people flirting with her, and she wouldn't do a thing. It drove him nuts, no matter how much he told himself that she didn't like them.

Crystal lost sight of Ace and began to search everywhere for him. She stopped to catch her breath, but finally gave up as people gathered around her and Dragon began to call her over.

"You looked worried my girl." Dragon said with a smirk and handing her a bottle of sake.

"Ace is mad at me and I don't know why." Crystal told him.

She stared at the bottle in front of her, knowing she shouldn't drink any, but decided she could momentarily distressed while taking a drink. She grabbed the bottle and took a chug before setting it back in front of Dragon.

"Ah, young love." Dragon chuckled. "Always one to have lots of drama in it."

"I don't understand why."

"Maybe he's jealous." Dragon laughed.

Crystal looked up at him and sighed. "Maybe," She could understand his side of the view, but couldn't see why Ace would be jealous.

"You can worry about that later!" Dragon laughed making Crystal look up. "Let's have fun for now! I'm sure if you let him cool down he'll be back to normal!" She smiled, then laughed as it grew contagious throughout the bar.

"Maybe he's right," Crystal whispered. She looked up at Dragon and nodded a thank you before waving to him and leaving.

She decided to walk around and look at the shops, becoming engrossed in the many array of dresses, jewelry, antiques, and many other things that littered throughout the stands. She went from stand to stand looking at all the wonderful things that some she would love to buy for herself, but other's she had to stifle a laugh from.

Before she realized it the sun was already setting and some of the shops were closing up. She looked around and noticed Hikaru searching around. He spotted her and came jogging over to get to her.

"You're supposed to be up in your room getting ready." He grumbled placing his hand on his hip and cocking his head to the side. "Do I have to do everything?"

She reddened thinking of what could possibly be going on in his mind. "Shut up! I was heading there now!"

He chuckled as he looked at the castle. "Some of them are already ready and have already gone into the room."

"Ah! I have to hurry then!" Crystal said rushing past Hikaru. She stopped and looked at him. "Are you not going too?"

"I may," He said simply.

She shook her head at him and raced off to the palace. Not wanting to admit that she had actually forgotten. She reached her room quickly and found a dress lying on the bed awaiting her. She found heels underneath the dress sitting on the floor.

"Where's your girl Ace?" Shanks asked smirking.

Ace turned his face slightly away from the red-haired pirate.

"Oh? Did something happen?" He asked.

"Did you lose your temper again?" Sabo quirked.

Ace clenched his jaw as he let out a hug and turned his head even more away from the pirates.

"Jealousy is a bad thing." Dragon chuckled walking up.

"I'm not jealous!" Ace yelled a little too quickly as he looked at them quickly and narrowed his eyes.

The room was filled with men in tuxedos of all colors, and women in dresses of all designs, lengths, types, and colors. Each one was specifically designs to flatter the person by his/her looks. Men and women stood in clusters by who they knew, or who they got along with. Most already had food and drinks in their hands.

"Who would have thought that Crystal planned this whole thing!" Dragon said as Whitebeard walked up with Marco, Thatch, Sakura, Lily, and Mayumi.

"Yes, it was a surprise to us all. That would explain why she was off with Mr. Irie." Whitebeard said.

Ace flinched realizing now that nothing had gone on with her and Hikaru.

"To even have these dresses and tuxedos made." Sakura said twirling around with a big smile.

She wore a long white dress that puffed up around her hips and splayed out to the floor like a princess. Mayumi wore a bright green dress, and Lily wore a light pink dress that framed her small figure. Ace wore a black and white tuxedo, Marco wore a blue one, Thatch wore a brown one, and Sabo a dark midnight blue, while Whitebeard was fitted with an all white one.

"Where's Crystal?" Thatch asked looking around.

"Ace got jealous." Shanks told them fixing his red tuxedo.

A hush filled the room as people began to turn their heads and look at the grand staircase at the front of the room.

"Well you may want to reconcile with her soon." Marco said with a smirk. He nudged his chin in the direction everyone was staring.

Ace turned around to see what Marco was talking about. He sucked in a quick breath and had to contain his jaw from dropping, and his face to redden.

Crystal was walking down the grand staircase looking like an angel. An icy blue satin halter dress hung tightly yet comfortably on her body. The front reaching about mid thigh, but the back swooping down to the back of her calves. Blue ribbons twirled up her arms to her elbows, and from her light blue strapped heels up to her knee's. A light blue ribbon was tied around her neck, making her necklace shine in brilliance, her hair was down and in ringlets, framing her face well, and sliding down her back. Drops of blue diamond hung from her ears, and make up as light as air covered her face, making it look as if not a single flaw was there.

Muttering and whispers were heard all around the room as she walked carefully down the stairs, and her eyes searched the room. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, men lined up to ask her for a dance. Ace's jealous rose up again as he watched her stare at them in curiousity and joy. He turned his head averting his eyes from the scene, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Would you like to dance?"

Ace looked forward quickly to see Crystal standing in front of him with a dazzling smile, and her hand out in question. He saw the group of men still standing by the staircase, watching in wonder why she refused them all.

"What about them?" He asked, before quickly shutting his mouth, realizing his jealousy was getting the best of him.

She giggled making his heart soar into his mouth. He looked up and he noticed her eyes were brighter and bluer than he has ever seen them before. "I don't want to dance with them. I want to dance with you."

His heart fluttered with excitement and joy as he looked at her outstretched hand and offered her his arm. She smiled from ear to ear place her hand through his arm and into the nook of his elbow. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful and elegant she looked right then.

Soft slow music began to play and Ace placed his hand in hers and the other around her waist, resting on the small of her back. She placed her hand in his and placed her other on his shoulder. They began to sway around slightly with the others moving into the middle of the floor with their partner.

Ace gave her a mischievous smile, making her cock an eye brow at him. She let out a squeak as he pushed her away but kept a hold on her hands, making her spin in front of him and land with her back against him and his arms and hers twisted around her. He spun her around again with one hand this time, making her spin out to the full length of both their arms. She spun in with his arms around her waist again, and he dipped her down, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"Ace!" She giggled as he pulled her back up. She smirked back to him. "How about we spice this up above."

She looked at the DJ and rolled her finger in the air, telling him to mix it up. Fast music began to play and Crystal tapped her feet back and forth as her body twisted, twirled, dipped, and shook, leading Ace in a dance mixed with the quick-step, tango, waltz, and many other dances. A tap was made on Ace's shoulder making him stop and turn.

"May I have the next dance?" Sabo asked with a smile.

Ace passed her onto their brother and watched as he began to spin her around, trying to copy their previous movements, but instead made her extremely dizzy. She was passed around from person to person, to every male in the room, even to those she was meeting for the first time. The last dance was saved for Whitebeard as he danced with her lightly and complimented her on how she looked.

"Daddy, thank you so much." She told him with a gentle, warm smile. "For bringing all these people on our side."

"These people didn't come on our side because of me my dear," He said with a small chuckle. "They came because you convinced them. They know how you truly are, and not how your parents portray you to others."

"I never would have imagined in my whole life that this many people would see the real me." Crystal said looking around the room, and feeling as if a warm light was filling her up. Tears began to brim on her eyes, making her stop dancing and take a deep breath. "I have never felt this happy, and….loved…. by people other than you, and my family."

"I told you that one day you would be seen by everyone for how good you are."

"I think I'm going to get some air," She said letting out an airy laugh and holding the happy tears back.

"Of course." He told her, nudging her towards the French doors that led out to a balcony overlooking the island.

The cool night air on her skin felt heavenly compared to how warm that room had gotten, and how flushed she got from dancing so much. She leaned on the balcony and let it cascade over her skin, cooling it with its cool fingers.

"A thank you would be an order."

Crystal turned her head as she glanced at Hikaru as he walked up and leaned on the balcony with her.

"Thank you," She said giggling. "Tonight was perfect."

"Tell me," Hikaru said, turning her body towards her. He grabbed a strand of her hair and twirled it around his finger. He brought it to his lips and placed a small kiss on it. "Is he really the reason why you wouldn't marry me?"

She flinched back, pulling her hair out of his grasp. "No, I didn't want to marry you because of how you are."

"Oh? And how's that?" He asked her as his jaw clenched.

"You're selfish, arrogant, always looking for something in return, you're mean, and take everything for granted. You don't treat people right, and everyone knows that you're not loyal to any one person." She told him narrowing her eyes.

"I would have changed that all for you." He told her.

Her heart stopped, not from his words, but the looks in his eyes that told her it was so easy to tell this lie in front of her.

"You know, I've learned how to tell a lie, especially one from you." She said crossing her arms. "I bet that the second this part is over, you're going to want something from me in return."

"Maybe I will." He said with a smirk and stepped closer to her.

She placed a hand on his chest and tried to push him away. She didn't realize how solid he was until she saw he didn't move an inch from where he was standing. She placed his hand over hers, trapping it against his chest.

"Let me go," She seethed through her teeth. "I do not, nor will I ever, like you in that kind of way. The one I love is Ace, and that will never change."

His eyes hardened and narrowed, keeping her mesmerized in them. "Fine. Then if you truly love him, give me one last parting kiss, and I will forever stop advancing towards you."

"Forever?" She asked him cautiously.

She knew she shouldn't even be thinking of it as an option, but as he nodded his head, there was a glint in his eyes of sadness and hurt, the last bit of hope he had that she wouldn't do it, just to show she may like him in that way. She couldn't let him think that. She leaned forward and placed her lips gently on his, giving him just a small kiss. As she tried to pull away his hand tangled in her hair and pulled her back to him, turning her and pushing her against the balcony to where she couldn't escape. She tried to struggle, but it was futile as he was much stronger than she believed and easily took her over. He pulled back and ran a thumb across her lips, with a satisfied smirk upon his lips. She watched as he stepped to the side and as he did she pulled in a deep breath, froze to the spot she was standing in.

Ace lost track of Crystal as people exchanged her from one to the next, the last he remembered was that she was dancing with Oyaji and was in the middle of everything. He walked around till he spotted said captain drinking sake from a gourd and a smile on his face.

"Oyaji! Where did Crystal go?" Ace asked.

"She went to the balcony to catch some air." Whitebeard said pointing towards the two towering French doors.

"Hey, didn't Hikaru go over there a few minutes ago?" Marco asked Sakura as her eyes narrowed.

"I swear if he tries anything." She growled.

"I'll go find her," Ace said furrowing his brow with anxiety.

He walked towards the doors, pushing past people that were dancing or walking around, and finally had the doors in sight. He froze where he stood just before the doors; he couldn't believe the sight before him.

Crystal was leaning forward and placed a kiss on Hikaru's lips. He watched as Hikaru wound his hand through her hair and deepened the kiss between them. He didn't see Crystal struggle as he placed her against the balcony and finally pulled back to breathe. He ran his thumb across her lips, and Ace's anger flew through the roof as he stared at the scene. Hikaru stepped to the side, and just as Crystal was beginning to walk away she stopped and took in a sharp intake of breath.

"Ace," She breathed looking at him with guilt in her eyes.

That was it; that was all he needed to see to know what had happened right then. He clenched his jaw and fists as he turned and quickly strode out of the ball away from her. He couldn't care less if he ever saw her again. He wanted to be far away from her and that stupid man Hikaru.

He could hear Crystal calling out to him from behind, and the clacking of her heals against the palace floors. Finally a tumble was heard, and Crystal ran towards him, leaving her discarded shoes behind. She grabbed his arm and made him stop, throwing her weight behind her to help.

His arm slung back and made her stumble as his arm slid out and he faced her. His glare made her flinch from how angry, ferocious, and hurt it was. She had never seen him look this way, much less look at her like it.

"Don't touch me," He growled.

Her eyes widened at those three words, and pain erupted in her heart as she took a step forward and stretched out her hand.

"DON'T!" He yelled stepping back and slapping her hand away. "I don't want you to ever touch me again!"

"Ace! It's not what it looked like!" She argued pleadingly.

"Oh? SO you weren't kissing him? He didn't kiss you back? He didn't press you against the balcony?" He accused.

She went to open her mouth and tell her that is NOT what happened, but that is exactly what happened. She knew that she had kiss Hikaru and he did kiss back and also pressed her to the balcony.

His eyes narrowed into slits as his whole body yearned to hit something right then and there to let it all out. He couldn't believe she would do this to him; he wanted her so badly to tell him that it wasn't true, yet here she was unable to do even that.

"I'm done," He said simply. She looked up with horror and hurt on her face as he pleaded with him with her eyes. "I can't do this anymore. We're over. We will no longer be together. Go back to Hikaru, or whichever guy you want to play around with, but don't come near me EVER again. I will no longer talk to you or be near you."

He walked off with one last glare towards her. She couldn't move; couldn't speak. All her senses were dead. It was like Marine Ford all over again, but this time she was dealing with Ace actually throwing her away like some rag doll. Her heart was clenching in pain as her body screamed at her to go after him, but she couldn't do anything. She was numb.

Her feet began to carry her away and out the doors, dropping her onto the ground once she reached the beach. She sat in the sand staring out into the ocean with dead eyes. She had never thought she could lose Ace like that, yet here she was unable to go after him.

"Too bad," Hikaru said walking up in his suit still. He smugly smiled down at her as he watched the pitiful state she was in. "You lost the one person you loved. Guess you know how I feel now."

Crystal glared as her senses came back and she lunged at Hikaru. She pinned him to the ground and sat on his chest as she clamped her hands around his neck and pressed her thumb into his trachea. "You did this! You did this on purpose! How could you?" She screamed at him.

"As I said, now you feel the same pain I have." He breathed out, forcefully pulling her hands slightly away so he could breathe.

"No! You have other women out there you will love! And they will love you back! You only wanted me because you knew I came with power and money!" She yelled furious. Her eyes were red with anger as she glared down at him, scaring him beyond capacity with the animosity it showed. "Ace was the only one who could love me! He was the only one I could love! He accepted me for who I was and who my parents were! You don't understand the pain I'm in!"

Water fell on Hikaru's cheeks making his eyes widen in awe and shock. Crystal's thumbs relaxed as she looked down at him with blue eyes full of hurt and pain. Tears flew out of them and landed softly on his cheeks. He had never seen her cry, and couldn't believe that this little problem would hurt her this bad. Though she was angry a second ago, her face showed nothing but regret, guilt, pain, and sorrow. It made him feel guilty for doing something so petty.

"You got what you wanted. Are you happy now?" She asked getting off of him and walking back towards the palace.

She stumbled through the hallways and up the elevator landing on the hallway leading to the room she book. She stopped just as she was about to put in the key and realized that she had booked the room for her and Ace. She couldn't go in there now. She wanted to barge in there and tell him everything, knowing he would understand, but as she thought about it, all she could see was the hurt and betrayal in his eyes as they looked at her. She closed her hand and walked a few doors down, knocking on it softly.

"Who's knocking at this time?" Sakura said irritated as she opened the door. "Oh! Crystal! Why are you…." She looked at her sister with worry as her head hung low and her body looked wiped. "What's wrong?"

"What did you and Ace have a fight? Oh no, it's the end of the world!" Marco joked trying to make it light hearted around them. "It would be the end of the world when you two break up."

"Crystal," Sakura said her eyes widening.

Marco looked up and froze his eyes doing the same as they watched tears run down her face and hit the floor. She stood there with tears flowing down leaving trails in her makeup and her shoulders shaking with every raking sob that came out. Sakura ushered her in quickly and sat her on the bed.

"Marco, make a warm shower please." Sakura said quickly, not really knowing what to do.

He nodded and did that quickly before coming back out and looking at Crystal with amazement and disbelief. "Are you saying you and Ace?"

She nodded her head as more raking sobs broke out.

"I don't know what to do." Sakura said hugging her sister and rocking back and forth. "Crystal was always the one to comfort me."

"She'll stay in here tonight. I'll go talk with Ace and see what's going on. Try to calm her down." Marco said quickly rushing out, leaving his jacket, shoes, and tie that accompanied his suit he still had on.

"Come on, let's go take a shower." Sakura urged.

She pulled Crystal towards the shower and got her undress as they hopped in, Sakura trying any way she could to calm Crystal down.

Marco stormed down the hallway not caring who saw how angry he was. He couldn't believe Ace would do such a thing! He didn't even know what happened, but for Crystal to cry like that, and in front of even him, who she never showed sadness in front of, was pissing him off much more than anything else has. He pounded on the door, and as the door opened he shoved inside.

Thatch was standing there in the entrance, being the one who opened the door. Mayumi stood a few feet in, leaning against the couch and looking at Ace who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Marco's anger bubbled out and sky rocketed as he lunged forward, grabbing Ace's collar and slamming him against the wall.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled at him. "To break up with Crystal like that?"

"Oi! Marco!" Mayumi said pulling at the phoenix roughly.

"You don't even know the story!" Thatch said reasoning.

"Yeah? Well did Ace even get the full story?" Marco accused glaring at Ace who was now slumped against the wall and sitting on the floor. "Crystal is in our room right now crying her heart out! She never cries in front of people! Think how scared I was when we open our door and she's standing there with her body shaking in hurt and pain, and her eyes flowing with tears!"

Thatch looked at him in shock as he took in what the commander was saying. He looked at Ace and saw how he still hadn't moved on the floor.

"Ace, are you sure what happened was really it?" Thatch asked.

"I'm sure. I saw her kiss him. And he kissed her back. She didn't even struggle as he pressed her to the balcony and pulled away." Ace said running his hand through his hair in hurt.

"You're an idiot." Marco growled.

Ace flinched. "I can't believe you're taking her side!"

"I'm taking her side because what you even say doesn't sound like her! You should know that better than anyone!" Marco argued. "If you didn't let your jealousy over other guys take over, you would probably be seeing the clear picture." He shook his head, not wanting to talk to the like of him anymore. "I don't care if you want to be this way, but I know Crystal is hurt and crying in my room because of what you did. I don't want you coming near her anymore you hear me?"

Marco didn't give him time to answer as he shoved his way past Thatch roughly and walked out the door, returning to his room. As he entered he found Sakura hugging Crystal as they lay in bed, tears still pouring out of her eyes even though she was asleep. Sakura looked helpless as she stared at her sister who had always been so strong and collected.

Marco explained in hushed whispers to Sakura what went on, and they decided they would deal with it tomorrow. As the sun came up, Sakura and Marco decided to set out and figure out what had happened. Crystal didn't move from the spot on the bed that she had curled up into the fetal position on. She laid there for most of the day as she continued to feel numb.

The door slammed open and a personnel looked at her out of breath and in a panic. "Ms. Crystal! We have a problem! The Marine's are here!"

Crystal sat up slowly as she rustled out of bed. It didn't matter how hurt she was, she couldn't let the Marine's hurt anyone here, especially not now that there were countless wanted pirates here in a meeting to fight against all that stood in their way. She hadn't even changed out of the dress from last night, and decided not to change anyway.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the dock that was full of Marine ships everywhere. There had to at least be twenty of them. She jumped up and landed on the edge of a mast to one of the fishing boats the island had.

"Hijiri Hikari Crystal!"

Aokiji and Kizaru walked out of the crowd of Marine's and stared at her with no fear at all. She glared at them and flicked her wrist up making the Marine's around the admirals pull their guns out and aim it at her.

"Wait!" A familiar voice shouted.

Garp walked out of the ground and held his hand up to show her they meant no harm.

"Oji-chan!" Luffy shouted behind her.

She looked back and saw all the pirates were behind her, watching with interest and determination on what would happen. They had their weapons ready at any moment to fight these Marine's. She spotted Ace and quickly turned her attention to the Marine's to stop from crying all over again.

"Crystal, please stop!" Garp said.

"Why should I?" She argued angrily.

"Because," Smoker said stepping forward. "We found what you were talking about."

Crystal's interest perked up as Smoker nodded towards the admirals in confirmation before continuing. The pirate's behind her looked on in even more interest as they listened carefully. Kizaru pulled out papers as he held them up.

"I found these in the desk of Sengoku." Smoker said guilty that he was admitting he stole and snooped. "They are documents proving Sengoku is in cohorts with your parent's and have been taking their money to keep doing as he saw fit, and to keep targeting you more so out of everyone! He has let their ways corrupt him and the Marine way!"

"We knew he was in cohorts with someone that was bad," Aokiji admitted staring at her. "But we never would have thought it was your parents. The very people we aim to stop."

"We always thought it was strange that he was so intent on finding you more than them. But we just thought it was because you were more powerful." Kizaru continued.

"Because I am. It is the sole reason why my parents want me dead!" She said flicking her wrist again, but this time sending water to hit their ship.

"We are not here to fight!" Garp said as the Marine's got their guns ready.

"Then what are you here for?" She asked questioningly.

"You have shown us our faults, and how wrong our system has become." Smoker pointed out. "If you would allow us,"

"If you would allow us," Aokiji picked up. "We would like to serve underneath you, in the cause to fight against your parents, and to once and for all destroy this wrong way of the Marine's and create the right way. We are under your order!"

The admirals saluted her, then Garp, then Smoker, making the Marine's not waste a second more as they disarmed their guns and placed it against their shoulder's and saluted her. It was as if a chain reaction caused a wave to go through the marine's as row by row they did so and saluted her. The wind blew, throwing her hair back and the dress with it, showing her the full extent of the Marine's there.

"She's done it," Sabo whispered amazed. Every pirate heard him as they glanced at him staring up at her. "She's got the Marine's on her side! She's joined Marine's and Pirates!"

Cheers were heard all around as Crystal continued to stare at her. Ace had to look away as his body yearned to pull her close and apologize, but he wouldn't do that, not when she was the one at fault. He could only be thankful that he was at the back of the crowd and that it would take a lot to reach her.

"You shouldn't blame her." Hikaru said appearing next to him.

Ace looked at him with eyebrows furrowed. "It's none of your business."

"It is." He said making Ace snap his glare to the man and fling his hate at him. "Last night Crystal tried to choke me and she cried. It was the first time I have ever seen her cry, and it was all because you broke up with her."

"She made her decision to kiss you. It's her own fault." Ace growled crossing his arms.

"No," Hikaru said still watching her and the Marine's. "I forced her to. I told her that if she was really in love with you, then I had one last request. I wanted her to kiss me. She tried to give me just a light and simple kiss, but I forced her to kiss me more, and trapped her against the balcony no matter how much she struggled."

Ace jerked at his explanation, seeing he was now in the wrong for believing what he did.

"I did it because I wanted her to feel the rejection I got from her. But I didn't know she was truly in love with you." Hikaru said guilty.

Ace grabbed Hikaru's collar and lifted him off the floor. "You bastard! Do you know what you have done?"

He threw Hikaru to the ground and glared at him. His fist connected with Hikaru's jaw and twisted him to the ground, face first, enough to leave a whelp in it's place, and a quick forming bruise. Ace quickly walked forward, hoping to get to Crystal and apologize as his body and heart told him to do before. An arm quickly caught his and made him stop.

He face Marco as said commander continued to glare at him. "Marco let me go! I have to get to Crystal!"

"No,"

"Did you not just hear what Hikaru said?"

"I did." Marco told him pushing him back. "And that's exactly why."

"What?" Ace looked at him astonished.

"I told you Ace. I want you to stay away from her. You have made her cry; you have hurt her more so than anyone has ever before." Marco explained. "You lost your chance. Now you'll have to pay for your decisions. You'll have to get past me to get to her. I am not going to let you near her ever again."

He looked passed Marco, hoping for some help, but instead saw Sakura, Lily, Sabo, Thatch, Mayumi, Mamoru, Tadao, Boris, and Akira all standing there glaring at him with arms crossed over their chests. He couldn't believe it, they were all going to keep him from going to her and apologizing; his own friends and family.


	31. Resolved (Lemon)

**All rights to One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda! All OC'S to me, and Mayumi to chien16youkai. please do not steal!**

**OKAY EVERYONE HERE IS THE LEMON! WARNING! RATED M FOR LANGUAGE, CONTENT, AND SEXUAL SCENES! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!**

**I'm sorry I haven't written for awhile, my computer is still being glitchy and I have no clue when the battery will be charged. Thank the heavens above that it has been charging for three days and keeps a full battery, so I've been able to type on both my stories! Please enjoy!**

* * *

"Did you and Ace have a fight or something?" Garp asked looking at Crystal.

Crystal glanced at him and looked ahead of her, determined not to show her emotions to the old Marine. "Yeah, but it's nothing."

Garp reached out his arm and pulled her head onto his shoulder, giving her a sideways hug. "You were always one to hide how you felt. It's going to be fine. You and Ace always fought then resolved it."

Crystal should have known he'd be able to see right through her. He was like a grandfather to her, and he always could tell how any of them were feeling. She put her arm around his back and gripped his uniform, burying her face into his shoulder. "I don't think we will this time ji-chan."

Garp looked at her, momentarily stunned from her calling him ji-chan. He knew she had to be feeling pretty bad if she was calling him that. Plus her tone of voice was that as she used as a little kid. When he looked down at her he saw the same small girl with the looks of an angel, burying her face into him because she knew her family was gone.

"It will." Was all he said as he patted her head and let out a sigh.

"But what if it doesn't?" She asked him timidly, her voice breaking.

Garp rapped her gently on the head, but enough to get her attention. "Now who the heck said that? Not the Crystal I know! The Crystal I knew was strong, determined, and always saw the positive in things!"

Crystal looked up at the Marine and a small smile crept onto her face as she took the compliment in. She nodded her head and rubbed her eyes slightly to get back to her normal self. He laughed and nudged her along towards the palace, which was now the holding place of all the Marines and Pirates. She walked through the doors and was instantly bashed with shouting, cursing, yelling, and threats.

"This is not going to be easy." Crystal said.

"That's the truth." Garp grunted in answer.

She took in a deep breath and spread her arms out wide. "ENOUGH!" She yelled at the same to she clapped her hands and sent the Pirates to one side, and the Marines to the other with her wind.

They all stared at her in amazement and shock, and she decided to take the moment to walk through the middle and place herself in front of her father who was trying to break it up, and facing the Admirals who tried to break up from their side.

"Now if all of you are done acting like children! We can get to explaining!" She shouted with her hands on her hips.

She looked at the Marines pointedly, before turning and giving her family and the others the same looks. When neither objected she did a curt nod with a huff and turned back around.

"Kizaru. Aokiji." She said grabbing their attention. "Has my father updated you on what we know so far?"

"Not quite." Kizaru said crossing his arms.

"He was about to when your 'family' over there began a fight." Aokiji continued as he pointed towards a little group.

She turned and saw Sakura, Sabo, Lily, Mayumi, Thatch, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Mamoru standing there guiltily, and in the center of it all were the two who were still fighting: Ace and Marco. She groaned inwardly as she pushed back her pain and tears at the sight of Ace and stomped over to them determined.

Marco was just going to throw a punch and Ace was about to light on fire, when she grab Marco's arm, stopping him, and pushed Ace in the chest to keep him from getting closer. Her hand tingled as it touched his skin, and wanted to so desperately go into his arms; to be touched by him like he had before, but she had to mentally beat up that thought and pushed it into the dumpster as she looked at Marco.

"Enough," She said threateningly. Her voice sending shivers down his spine with fear.

He lowered his arm as she lowered hers and gave Ace a pointed look threatening him the same way. She looked at the rest of the small group and saw them fidgeting underneath her stare.

"We will talk about this later." She told them quietly for only them to hear.

Marco looked at her in disbelief. "Why should we? You're not in charge!"

It was an automatic response from him when someone other than Whitebeard tried to tell him what to do. Now he regretted it as he knew her temper and pain were already flaring and her eyes flashed read at him. Whitebeard looked at him sternly, making him feel all the worse with snapping at her.

"Do as she says." He said gruffly, making Marco back down and nod.

"Would you like to explain? Or me?" She asked her father with a sigh. He nodded his head at her, telling her to go ahead. "My parents have control of my older brother Takeru and Shichiro. They plan to take me and control me also, or to kill me. New information tells us that they have a new way to take my power from me. I'm not sure how this works because if my power is taken away from me I will die, and in the process Ryuuji will die also."

At the mention of his name, Ryuuji flows out of her necklace and stands next to her in his human form. Some of the Marine's gasped and flinched, but others still stood their ground and flashed fearful glances.

"My parents want me gone before my eighteenth birthday! That is in less than a month. And if my guess is correct they will attack before that day."

"Why your eighteenth birthday?" Smoker asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because on her eighteenth birthday her powers will be at their best, and it won't affect her body as much as it has till now." Garp answered for her.

She nodded her head in agreement. "If my parents get my powers, whether by killing me or by controlling me, no one will be able to stop them."

"Is it that easy for them to control people?" Coby asked.

She nodded her head. "My mother's ability is that of the mind and wind. It's nothing for her to tap into your and know everything about you, and control you."

"What about yours? You said that they would try to control you." Helmeppo added in.

"It's not as easy for her to get into mine, for the sole reason because of Ryuuji. In a way he has put a barrier around my mind." She explained tapping her head.

"What about your brothers?" Aokiji inquired.

"What about them?" She asked protectively.

"Are they being controlled, or are they doing it on their own?" Kizaru questioned.

She clenched her jaw to keep her anger in check. She knew the answer to his question but didn't want them to know. They would judge them, then everything could go wrong.

"My brother Takeru is being controlled. My other brother Shichiro…" She said and cut off.

"He's not." Garp said in disbelief. "Why?"

"My parents have him believing whatever they tell him, even if that means I'm the enemy." She said.

"If your brother is on their side, what's to say that you aren't also?" A Marine shouted accusingly.

"Yeah! You could be leading us into a trap!"

"We could get killed!"

Shouts of protests erupted in the room on the Marine's side. Crystal gripped her arms to keep her eyes normal and stood her ground. The Pirates became antsy as the Marines began to inch closer to them.

"STOP!" Smoker commanded. They all stopped and looked at him. "If she wanted to lead us into a trap, then why involve all these other pirates? How did the papers get into Sengoku's desk then?" They thought and grappled for any excuse they could get to accuse her of wronging them. "If any of you want to back out then leave right now!"

The Marines fidgeted under his glare, but didn't say another word. Crystal sighed in relief and nodded a thanks to Smoker as he turned to look at her.

"If Shichiro is willingly helping them, then why did they need Takeru?" Garp asked confused.

Crystal became uncomfortable under all the stares of the Marines, and couldn't utter a word. She had never been listened to for help, and it was making her stomach fly, twist, and flip in anxiousness.

"Takeru is the only one in our family that could control Crystal's power." Sakura answered for her.

"How?" Kizaru asked.

"Takeru-nii-chan was the one who helped train Ryuuji. So Ryuuji became trusting towards him and allowed him the privilege to help control him in a time of need." Mamoru offered as more explanation.

"They will most likely use him to stop Ryuuji from attacking them, or hold me off and weaken me when the battle ensues." Crystal told them. "That is the jist of what we know."

"To have this many people. Is it really necessary?" Coby asked waving his arms to gesture to everyone.

"Have you ever fought my parents?" She shook her head. "No, that's a stupid question. Because if you have you wouldn't be here. My parents are ruthless, and kill anyone in their way. They are powerful and will stop at nothing to gain control of anyone and everyone."

"Then how the hell are we going to stop them?"

This time Crystal had to turn and stare at Phoenix as he stepped forward with an infuriated look upon his face.

"My mother was not always bad." Crystal told him turning around fully. "She was good and worked for the right thing, just like me and my siblings. But my father has the power of darkness and anything related to it. He controlled her with that power and made her use her powers for bad. He has her under his thumb and is not planning to let her go until his mission is complete. You have come into contact with one other person who has the power of darkness." She saw the Marines flinch at the mention of Blackbeard. "Now amplify that times 50 and you have my father's power. They have people on their side, but even now they waver on which side will win and keep them alive. If we can get them to help us, and I can get my brothers and mother away from helping my father, we will win."

"That sounds impossible." Phoenix sighed.

"It's not," She told him with a small smile. "I'm alive because me and my siblings fought together, then I had Luffy, Ace, and Sabo to help me growing up. I had Whitebeard and his crew on my side, and even then my parents could not destroy us."

"Besides she's so stubborn she hasn't died yet!" Jozu joked to lighten the mood.

Everyone chuckled along with him, knowing how true that was. Crystal smirked as she looked at the Pirates and then the Marines.

"This is why I have asked for help. At first I thought I would be able to do it myself, but knew it would be impossible and give them exactly what they wanted. But if I have help from all of you then I'm sure we'll be able to stop them!" She said proudly.

"How big is their army?" Aokiji asked.

"I don't know, but I know their preparing just as much as we are right now." She told them truthfully.

Silence filled the room as no one had any other questions, and everyone was settled on what they needed to do.

"Well if we're all settled on that then," Crystal said clapping her hands to grab all of their attentions. "For now go have fun, enjoy yourselves, and prepare for what is to come!"

Marine's took no time to wander out and explore the island and what it had. The pirates soon followed, but some continued to stay in the room to talk to Crystal and Whitebeard. Ace's eyes never left Crystal as she left him and began to talk and explain what they knew so far.

When her hand touch him, he wanted to gather her up and keep her close; apologize for everything he did, and take it all back. But just as she walked off and he went to grab her, Marco slammed his hand onto his chest, not allowing him to go any further. He kept his eyes on her through the whole thing, waiting for his chance to go to her.

Just as everyone was leaving an opening appeared. Ace took the moment to rush forward and reach out to Crystal. He caught her wrist just as she began to walk off. She stopped, and he could see her tense the second he did. He knew she could tell who it was, she always did.

"Crystal," He said softly, urging her with his voice to turn around.

She continued to look ahead and keep her distance as he held onto her wrist.

"Crystal, please, look at me." He urged pulling her closer.

She shook her head, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it if she looked at him. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, making her face him. He grabbed her chin and lifted her chin up so her eyes looked into his.

"Listen to me," He said. He opened his mouth to continue but the look in her eyes sent daggers into his heart. She was looking at him with hurt and pain, as if he was going to hurt her. Tears were brimming on her eyes and he could tell she was holding them back.

"No!" She yelled throwing his arms away and stepping back.

He reach out to her again, but his arm was grabbed and twisted behind his back, making him shout out in pain. Mamoru had grabbed his arm, and Marco was standing protectively in front of her, glaring at Ace with looks that can kill.

"Come on let him go." Thatch offered up.

Mamoru let him go and stood next to Crystal watching Thatch and Ace. Marco arched an eyebrow at Ace, daring him to come towards Crystal again.

"I warned you Ace," Marco said standing his ground.

"I just want to talk to her." He begged, taking a step forward.

Another dagger stabbed his heart as Crystal crept behind Marco and latched onto his shirt, hiding from Ace. She still wouldn't look him in the eye, and her shout had gathered attention from the whole room.

He clenched his jaw and balled his fists as he looked at Marco threateningly. "Fine, then you come with me."

Ace flashed forward and grabbed his collar, dragging him outside. The others quickly followed, but when Crystal tried, they stopped her and told her to stay there. She tried to protest but they wouldn't have any of it.

"It's your own fault Ace." Marco grumbled yanking himself away from Ace's grip.

"I know what I did was wrong! That's why I'm trying to fix it." He argued

"Even if Marco lets you see her, I'll stop you." Sakura said, with a nod of approval from Mamoru.

"It's a normal lover's quarrel." Thatch argued gently.

"It's not the first time Ace and Crystal have fought." Sabo ushered.

"But it's the first time she's cried!" Lily yelled at him.

"Crystal and Ace should solve it themselves." Luffy argued with a shrug.

"Not when she came to others for help." Sanji and Zoro said at the same time. Actually agreeing with each other on the subject.

"Would all of you knock it off." An angry, gruff voice shouted.

Whitebeard walked up with an irritated look, and his arms crossed. He stared down each one of them, seeing if they would talk back to him.

"This is ridiculous! I am not going to have my own crew fight and split!" He yelled at them. "Your attitudes are making the other anxious and irritated! Ace and Crystal should be able to deal with it on their own!"

"But Whitebeard!" Marco shouted. "He made her…!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" He shouted towards them, making the ground rumble. "It is their problem! And theirs alone! If she doesn't want to be near him then she needs to say so!"

"Daddy," A whispered voice said behind him.

The others looked and saw Crystal hanging onto him lightly, hiding herself behind him from the others.

"Do you want this fight to go on?" He asked her gently.

She shook her head and looked at everyone apologetically. "I never meant for a fight to happen anyway. I just needed to get away."

"But Crystal!" Sakura shouted.

Crystal shook her head stopping her. "I don't want this. It hurt yes, but it's life." She looked down not able to look at them. "I'll just have to get over it."

Everyone kept their jaws firmly closed and looked at Crystal helplessly. Ace walked forward grabbed her wrist and pulled her quickly towards the palace, ignoring the shouts of protest behind him. Whitebeard stopped them from getting Ace and grabbing Crystal, making sure they solved it on their own.

Ace tugged her along till her wrist felt like it was going to pop out.

"That hurts," She growled.

He ignored her as he stormed through the palace and up the stairs reaching the room they had shared previously. Ace pushed her in and quickly locked the door behind them.

"Finally," He groaned. "Crystal you have to listen to me, please!"

Crystal glanced at him from the corner of her eye, but knew she shouldn't have. His gaze was holding hers, locking her eyes to his. His eyes were full of guilty and pleading, begging her to listen to him. She nodded her head reluctantly and walked over to the sink. Ace sat on the bed and placed his arms on his legs, running a hand through his hair.

"Listen, I'm sorry." He said with a sigh. "I lost my temper and ended up saying some stupid things that I shouldn't have."

"That doesn't say much." She grumbled splashing water on her face and then drying it off. She needed something to keep her mind off of him; to keep it away from just walking over there and pushing him to the bed and kissing him. She shook her head, trying to get those thoughts away.

"You're right," He said looking up at her. She looked up and stared into his eyes through the mirror, seeing his pleading eyes again. "I was jealous…"

"What?" She said turning around quickly and staring at him. He had whispered it and she wasn't sure if he had actually said what she thought.

"I was jealous!" He said louder. "I was jealous because there was yet another guy that wanted you and loved you! They all wanted a relationship with you and you were always so friendly to them! I was jealous that you are always hanging around other guys and being nice! Always smiling and laughing with them! It pissed me off!"

Crystal walked over to the wall and leaned against it, placing her weight on something so she didn't fall. She ran a hand through her hair this time and stared at him. "Ace I can't help that!" He looked up at her in shock as he noticed her bedraggled look. "99% of our crew are men! What am I supposed to do? Ignore them? Hurt them? There's nothing I can do!" She let out a breath releasing all the pent up stress she had. "I treat them kindly because I've known them for a long time! They're like family! They're nothing else but family to me! You have to understand Ace, if I wanted to date one of them, or marry one of them, I wouldn't have chosen…." She took a deep breath and let it out. "I wouldn't have chosen you. You were the only one I thought of. I would do anything for you."

Ace stared at her with guilt again as he realized how stupid he was being, letting his jealousy take over him so easily. He stood up and walked across the room. She looked up and saw him and shook her head; she turned quickly and tried to reach the door before he got to her. A hand slammed the wall next to her head, trapping her inside. Ace placed his leg between hers and pushed on her arm to make her face him once again.

Crystal let her eye roam towards his face, but once again, it was a bad again as his eyes held hers like super glue. Her breath stopped and her heart skipped a beat as he looked at her with intense eyes, as if he was looking into her soul and seeing what she truly wanted. He was smoldering the air around her already without even doing anything yet. Her head was telling her to try and get away, but her heart over powered her brain and kept her in place, wanting to stay close to him for as long as possible. Her heart beat so fast in her chest she could swear he could hear it.

Ace watched her closely, looking at the way her skin flushed from her chest, neck, ears, and face; how her lips puckered and looked full; her hair sliding over her shoulder and draping like a curtain on her skin; her skin glowing as if catching some unknown light in the room; and her eyes…god her eyes…they were what was pulling him in, they smoldered with want. He knew she was avoiding him, but her eyes said something different.

He saw her falter for a second and knew he was breaking his hold on her. He leaned forward and seized her lips passionately in his, quickly wrapping his arm around her waist and leaning on his forearm against the wall as he pulled her body against his. She struggled at first to get away, her mind going over time for the fear of being hurt once again, but once again her heart won over as her body melted against him and she breathed a grateful sigh into his lips. She let out a small moan of pleasure as her hands rested against his arms. She slid them up and over his shoulders, running her nails along his neck and jaw before entangling her fingers into his hair.

She didn't care if her whole mind was telling her not to do this for the slight chance she would be hurt again; she didn't care if she got hurt again. All she wanted right now was to be with Ace, and to be completely his. She wanted to feel like they were one and the same. Her body urged to be close to him, and it was hard to stay away all this time. Now her body showed him as it pressed against him harder, she could already feel the bulge in his shorts that was growing larger by the second.

Ace slid his hand up her back and twined his fingers into her hair, feeling the silkiness of how it slid so easily through his fingers and past his hand. Crystal had still not changed out of her dress, and at that moment, gave Ace the easiest time of running his hand along her bare skin on her back, feeling that she didn't have a bra on. He moaned into the kiss, making his bulge even bigger in anticipation. He licked her bottom lip, but as she refused he pushed his hips forward into her, brushing his manhood against her wetting folds, and making her gasp, giving him the moment to slide his tongue in and explore her mouth.

Her nails slid down his back making him groan out with pleasure. She smiled into the kiss as she brought her hands back up and down his chest and abdomen, feeling his muscles ripple with her touch. His muscles tensed and prepared for her touch, ready for more. He groaned out from her teasing making her smile more and nip his bottom lip. He pulled back as both of them breathed, and he arch an eyebrow at her, but smirked as he slid his hands down and cupped her butt, pulling up as he pushed her against the wall. She jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing her now wet folds against him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He attacked her neck fiercely, moving along her jaw and down her neck. He hit her collar bone and nibbled along it till moaned out just at the nape of her neck. He smirked and licked the spot making her squeal, then bit and sucked at it till it left a big red mark in its place. His hands glided across her legs and drove her dress up onto her hips until he could see her thighs. His thumb began to rub circles on the inside of her thigh, making her groan out a breathy moan.

He pushed away from the wall and began to walk over to the bed, slipping his hand up her back and untying the strings holding it up. The strings fell and she quickly moved her hands to hold up the top of her dress. This caused her to lose her hold and fall backwards. He fell with her and landed on top of the bed. He smirked again as he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. He kissed her lips hungrily while he held her wrist with one hand, and let the other travel down to the top of the dress. Pulling it down passed her stomach, hips, and legs, and letting it fall to the floor, leaving her in only her underwear. Her face flushed as he leaned on his elbow and gazed down at her.

"So beautiful," He whispered making her flush even more and look away.

He cupped her chin and made her look at him as he kissed her sweetly. He pulled back and smiled at her before hungrily diving for her right breast and sucking on it.

"Ah!" She moaned as her back arched up into him.

He sucked on that breast as the other was being massaged and played with by his hand. She moaned out again when his tongue flicked her nipple, sending bursts of fire throughout her body. He switched breast giving the same treatment to both. Once he was done he looked down at his work and smiled in pleasure at the now red, hard, bruised chest before him. He let his gaze travel to her face and his member throb in impatience and anxiousness as he gazed at her. Her cheeks were flushed, a sweat sheen began to form over her skin, and her mouth was open breathing heavily as her chest raised up and down to take in the air. He let her hands go and they slid next to her head as she tried to regain her breathing. He heated his finger up and trailed it along her skin, going down from her lips, throat, in between her breasts, down her stomach, and along her hips. He slid his thumb into the edge of her panties and began to pull down. She quickly grabbed his arm and flipped him over so she was sitting on his hips, pressing her entrance against his groin.

"My turn," She growled seductively.

She leaned down and pressed her chest against his as she kissed his lips, and nibbled on his bottom one. She trailed butterfly kisses along his jaw as she pushed his hair out of his face, and nibbled on the end of his ear, making him moan out in ecstasy. She smirked proudly as she trailed down his chin and kissed along the nape of his neck, waiting till she heard that moan come out of him mouth. Finally he let it out and she gave him the same treatment he did to her, leaving a red spot plainly on his neck. She ran her nails down his chest and stomach again as she slid down him and kissed her way down and then back up to his lip, leaving scorching fire behind where her lips touched him. Her hands quickly undid his belts, button, and zipper, before sliding her thumb on the edge and tugging down. He pushed his hips up to help her but made them both moan out as he pushed his member against her folds. She slid them off and he kicked them to the floor, leaving both of them in their underwear and breathing heavily as she looked down at him.

He took a sharp intake of breathe and grunt as her fingers brushed against his manhood over his boxers, making it twitch in excitement. She guided his boxers down and stared at his member with wide eyes. He flushed slightly as she sat there staring at it in amazement.

"Like what you see?" He teased her, though he was just as red as she was.

"It's so…" She began before flushing again. "…big."

He chuckled, making her flush even more. She reached her hand out and grabbed a hold of it, making him grunt in pleasure. She stroked his shaft slowly at first, then quicker as his grunts began to excite her body and make her all the more wet. She leaned down and licked the tip of his member making him moan out and buck up into her. She pulled back and smirked as she slowly slid her tongue along the top and continued to stroke his shaft. She engulfed him into her mouth, pumped him quickly and sliding her mouth and tongue along his member with her hand. Her other hand played with his sack, making him thrust into her and grunt out a huge moan.

She let go off him with an audible, wet pop before he could come. She climbed on top of him and straddled his hips again as she smirked down at him seductively and mischievously. She reached down towards his member again, ready to tease him more. He flipped her over quickly, making her squeal in surprise. He kneeled above her with her legs on either side of his hips, with a mischievous smirk playing on his lips this time. He pulled her leg up as he leaned down and licked the inside of her thigh, making her let out a breathy moan. He nipped her tender skin and kissed his way up to her panties, running his tongue along the wet fabric. She flush and held in a moan, making him smirk and look up at her.

"Don't hold them in, or I'm just going to make you scream." He said seductively making her shiver.

He bit the end of her panties and tugged them down with his teeth, scratching them on the inside of her leg on the way down. She kicked them the rest of the way off and breathed heavily as the air became thick and hot all around them. It seemed the temperature continued to rise in the room, and never seemed to stop. Ace kissed her navel before sliding his tongue down until he reached her folds. He licked her folds making her cover her mouth with her hand quickly.

"I told you," Ace chuckled. "I'm just going to make you scream if you hold them in."

He slid his tongue along her fold again and again, feeling her body tremble beneath him. Her hips bucked into him, and he smirked as he held them down with his hand. He squeezed her bud between his teeth as he sucked on it making her chest clench and her to bite her cheek. He furrowed his brows, wanting to hear her voice. He moved down and slid his tongue into her, finally receiving the loud breathy moan he wanted to hear come out of her lips. He thrusted his tongue in and out of her making her moan with every one of them. He pulled back and licked his lips of her juices before kissing her and smirking.

"Told ya," He chuckled.

He warmed up his finger again, but this time slid it into her, warming up her core from the inside. She gasped in surprise at the unfamiliar feeling, but groaned at the pleasure it was give her, making her all the more wet. He added another finger before pulling them out and thrusting them back in. She gripped his arms as her hips pushed into his fingers. He seized her lips again as he added yet another finger, closing her moan of from the air. He slid his tongue around her, pushing and massaging the muscle till it succumbed to his dominance. He felt her walls threaten to clench around his fingers and pulled them out before she could come.

She pulled back and groaned as she looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Teaser,"

"You started it," He chuckled breathless. He lifted her legs on either side of his hips and positioned himself at her entrance. "You ready?"

She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head. He pushed into her slowly, breaking her barrier inside and causing her to bite her lip in pain and him to grunt at how tight she was. Tears formed on the edges of her eyes, making him stop and let her adjust to him. He kissed her lips, then the sides of her eyes, to get the water away. The pain was unbearable to her, it was as if it was taking over her whole body, but she knew Ace was having a harder time as his body trembled in wait. She pushed her hips forward, telling him to go ahead. He looked down at her and watched as she nodded. He pulled out of her slowly before thrusting back into her, repeating that to a slow rhythm.

Soon the pain subsided as pleasure filled her body instead, sending shivers down her spine, and throughout her body. She moaned out and pushed her hips closer to his, meeting his at his pace. He sped up at the sound of her moan and pulled her body close to his. She arched her back and took his lips into hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with his hair again. His thrusting became inhuman as she moaned out and he did too, making her wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, pushing him further into her.

"Ah!" She yelled as he hit a bundle of nerves inside of her that sent electricity through her body.

He hit that spot repeatedly as she continued to yell out. "Say my name,"

"Ace," She whispered holding back the moaned trying to escape.

"Louder," He grunted pushing into her harder.

The coil inside of her was tightening as she fell onto her back and gripped the covers as tight as she could. "Ace."

"Louder," He commanded this time staring down at him with fire in his eyes.

She arched her back as the coil wound so tight it felt like her body would snap along with it. "Ace!" She yelled as the coil snapped and her walls clenched tightly around his member.

He carried out her orgasm as he thrust into her a couple more times before spilling his seed within her. He fell on top of her momentarily as he caught his breath, before rolling over and carrying her with him to where she was lying directly on top of him.

"You know," She said in between breaths. She looked up at him, placing her chin on her hands. "I always heard make-up sex was great. You have a lot to compete with."

He stared at her for a couple seconds before bursting out laughing, his chest rumbling with it and into her body. He kissed her lips once more before lying back and wrapping his arm around her waist. She laid her head down and rest on his moving chest, listening to the beat of his heart and his breathing.

"This is going to be hard to explain," Ace said staring down at her lovingly.

She looked up once again and smile. "What are you talking about? We'll just tell them that make-up sex is the best." She teased him kissing his lips and playing with his hair.

"I don't think that would go to well with the others." He said chuckling.

She shrugged her shoulders as his fingers traced patterns onto her back, soothing her to sleep.

"Crystal," He said exhausted.

"Hm?" She said with her eyes closed and nodding off to sleep.

"I love you," He said affectionately. Every word soaked in love and tender-heartedness.

She sat up surprised and looked at him, making him stop tracing her back and stare back in confusion. He thought that he may have said the wrong thing to her, but he didn't care, he had to tell her.

"Really?" She asked him, making him all the more shocked.

"Of course," He said cupping her cheek. "You're the only girl I've loved. And you'll be the only one."

Crystal laid her forehead upon his, tears on the edges of her eyes with joy, and a smile on her face. "I love you too. I thought I was the only one."

He laughed and kissed her lips again before making her lie back down. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be tough with training the Marine's, and explaining this to the group."

She giggled as her mind already began to slip away. They fell asleep listening to each other's breathing and lolled off into a peaceful sleep. Tomorrow was going to hold a rough time for them. It was make or break tomorrow, and Crystal didn't know if she'd be able to do it with how fast the poison was spreading through her. She hadn't told anyone, but it was becoming harder to control Ryuuji the more the poison spread. Now it was up to her to train everyone. There were two weeks left until her parents would come, and she needed to get everyone ready. Will she be able to handle it? Will she lose Ace after all?


	32. Akito Vs Crystal

**All rights to One Piece goes to Eiichiro Oda-sensei. OC's go to me, all except Mayumi who goes to chien16youkai.**

* * *

Crystal grumbled as the sunlight shone through the windows and hit her face. She turned her head, pressing her face into the pillow, but grunted again as the hard surface didn't dip under her pushing. A chuckle was heard above her, making her look up groggily.

"Morning," Ace said sweetly as he brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

She smiled remembering last night and all that happened. "Morning," She breathed lightly laying her head on her hands again.

Banging happened on their door repeatedly and harshly. "Oi! Come out already! I can't stand these Marine's! If you don't come out on the count of five I'll break the door down!" Marco yelled on the other side.

"Oi! You shouldn't break property." Thatch said in the back ground.

"ONE!"

"Come on leave them be," Sakura sighed.

"TWO!"

Crystal got up with a sigh and put her underwear on and a t-shirt that Ace had used for his tuxedo before. She began to walk towards the door with a stress mark on her forehead.

"Marco you're over reacting." Mayumi scolded.

"THREE!"

"You should be happy they're not fighting." Sabo laughed.

"Yeah it means it's all back to normal." Lily pitched in.

"FOUR! Don't make me walk in with you two naked!"

Crystal walked to the door and balled her fist.

"Stop being jealous Marco!" Thatch teased.

"FI…!"

The door slung open quickly and Crystal threw a kick, hitting Marco in the chest and flinging him down the hallway.

"WE HEARD YOU!" Crystal yelled staring at him with a glare.

"Told you," Mayumi said proudly. "Nice outfit by the way,"

Crystal shrugged her shoulders as she let out her frustration and held the door open for them. They walked in and saw Ace sitting on the edge of the bed pulling his boots on.

"Give me a minute to change," Crystal said glaring at Marco as he walked in. "BE…NICE…"

Marco averted his eyes to the floor as he walked over and leaned against the wall. "Hey, I'm sorry."

Ace looked up shocked, along with the others who soon began to smile.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." Sakura said fiddling with her outfit.

"Me too," Mamoru said rubbing his neck.

"We all are," Lily said quietly.

Ace leaned on his knees as he looked at all of them. A smile broke out onto his face and stared at his friends and family. "Nah, I deserved it. I probably wouldn't have blamed you if you punched me."

"Is that an offer?" Marco teased with a smirk, holding his fist up and clasping his elbow.

Ace stood up and him and Marco clasped forearms together. They laughed together as the girls rolled their eyes and sat on the bed.

"Ready?" Crystal asked looking at all of them. Crystal was now wearing a piece of black fabric that twisted in the middle, framing her chest, and two strings that joined in the middle and came up and tied around her neck. She had black heeled boots with buckles reaching up the side, and she left her hair down, letting it frame her face and body.

"What happened to the ribbon I gave you?" Ace asked looking at her hair.

She smiled as she lifted her wrist showing the ribbon tied there. "Never leave without it." She walked over and grabbed Ace's hand, twining her fingers through his. "Come on, let's go. Unless you want to have a gay moment with Marco?" She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked at Marco as she stuck her tongue out.

They walked out of the palace quickly, letting the others lead them towards the group of Marine's and pirates. They turned as she walked out, and most greeted her with smiles and laughs. Crystal set to work, matching up Marine with a Pirate, to teach them quickly on what senses they need to hone in on and the final one was just as impossible the first time.

"We still can't understand how to teach the last one." Marco said gruffly as he caught his breath from sparring with a Marine.

"I don't know how to do it!" She said pushing her eyes from the stress. "Ugh! This is so frustrating!"

"Crystal-san!" Coby whined as he looked out of breath. "Can we take a break?"

"Go ahead!" She yelled out apologetically.

Groans of appreciation were heard all around as they all collapsed onto the ground.

"Frustrating isn't it?" Hikaru said sneaking up on Crystal.

She turned quickly and kicked out, sending him falling on his butt and staring at her incredulously.

"Don't come near me." She sneered as she stood with her knees bent and a fist in front of her, while the other rested at her hip.

"Okay, okay," He said putting his hands up in surrender. "Just thought I would tell you that you cannot teach another how to hone in on their instincts."

"But Takeru taught me." She said looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"No he brought it out, by putting you in danger he helped you bring it out." He said sighing. "Everyone has different levels of instinct, yours was greater than others."

"How do you know all of this?" She asked him, relaxing her stance.

"Your brother told me." He said with a shrug. "I'm not completely useless."

"I beg to differ." She said walking past him with a huff.

Ace looked over and saw that Hikaru was talking with Crystal, making his anger flare over again. He took in a deep breath and walked calmly over to her, knowing he had to calm himself before he made another mistake like last time.

He walked over and clasped his hand in mine. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," She said hugging his arm. "He was just giving me a message from my brother."

"You're brother?" Ace asked looking at her confused.

"Yeah, from before. I can't teach instincts. You have to learn it on your own." She said with a sigh.

"Is it so difficult to teach that?" Smoker asked walking up shirtless.

Crystal flushed as she looked around and noticed all the men had stripped off their shirts and were bare with sweat rolling over them.

"Not so much that it is difficult, but more that it's something you already have and need to tap into. Much like the senses but it's more inside you." She explained waving her hands around trying to grasp for the right explanation.

"Take a break," Ace said pulling her against his chest, and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"This is stressing me more than anything else." She said rubbing her temples.

Ace sat down, bringing Crystal with him, setting her on his lap. He warmed his hands and began to massage her shoulders, neck, and head, easing her headache away. She moaned out with pleasure as her head eased the pressure away.

A siren wailed loudly making them all look up. Crystal stood up with Ace as Marines and Pirates stood and looked around, trying to spot what the siren was all about.

"Hikaru! What's going on?" Crystal shouted as she raced forward and looked at the group.

"Hold on! I'm going to go check it out!" Hikaru said speeding away towards the palace.

Crystal walked up to Tadao and Akira looking at the sea. Nothing was there in sight as they all looked at one another confused. A sharp electric pain shot through her body making her gasp out in surprise. She knew this pain and fear all too well. It was one she has been fearing all her life.

"Daddy," She said shakily backing up quickly. "Daddy,"

Whitebeard looked over at his daughter and took an intake of breath at the pure fear on her face as she looked around distressed.

"Hey Crystal what's wrong?" Ace asked cupping her elbow and looking at her intently.

The pain shot through her again, making her quickly push Ace away and onto the ground.

"Crystal! What?" He asked.

An explosion interrupted him sending Crystal flying across the ground and skidding till she stopped. She looked up quickly and screamed as a hand shot down and slammed her into the ground by her neck.

"So this is where you were all this time." An evil rough voice laughed.

"Crystal!" Whitebeard yelled looking back quickly.

A man with dirty blond hair, and red eyes stood over her with a malicious smile and an evil glint to his eyes.

"Such a worthless piece of trash," He said kicking Crystal and sending her flying across the short distance.

"Why you," Sabo yelled flashing forward and cloning himself.

"You think that will stop me?" He chuckled. He waved his hand and all the clones disappeared, and sent Sabo flying back towards the group.

He looked back at Crystal and glared. He disappeared and reappeared in front of her as he seized her by the neck and lifted her up into the air. Whitebeard glared at the man as he slammed his fist into the air, sending a giant rock towards them.

The man looked back and the rock exploded in front of their eyes without him so much as raising a hair. "Whitebeard. And here I thought I'd have the chance to ask you to come to my side and help. Too bad. To work for someone so worthless." He tossed Crystal towards them, Ace catching her and stopping her from flying farther.

"That brat has cost me valuable time. She has continuously ruined plan after plan I make!" He said his anger growing as he stared at the group standing protectively around her.

"Stop!" Sakura shouted standing in front of Crystal as Mamoru, Lily, Tadao, and Sabo stood with her.

"Ah! My dear daughter Sakura! My dear boy Mamoru! So good to see you two alive!" He said sarcastically. "Still protecting your sister I see. Shall we have a repeat of before?"

Crystal began to tremble as she stared from her father to her family. He waved his hand and they were thrown backwards by a force so dark and malicious that it sent shivers of fear through everyone standing there.

"Stop it!" Crystal shouted thrusting her hand forward towards him, sending Ryuuji out to attack.

Ryuuji changed quickly into his human form as a wall of dust surrounded him and he was thrown backwards, skidding across the floor on his feet. The dust cleared showing Shichiro standing there before their father with a smirk on his face.

"Shichiro," Sakura whispered staring at her brother hurtfully.

"We're not giving this battle to him. There are only two of them!" Smoker yelled defiantly.

"No! Don't!" She yelled trying to stop them, but it was useless as Marine's and Pirates rushed forward with a battle crying preparing their weapons.

Crystal watched in horror as Kuro and Midori, their dragons, appeared and swept everyone away, taking their strength with them.

"This isn't any fun," Her father said yawning and smiling at her. "Can't you make this more exciting?"

Ace pushed her behind his back as he glared at her father. "Enjoumou!" Fire erupted all around and engulfed her father and brother quickly before they could get away.

"You think this could stop me?" He laughed victoriously.

People watched in horror as the flames were engulfed by a swirling ball of darkness that he held in his hand. Crystal realized what was going on. Every attack he got, he sucked up into the ball, making it larger and more powerful with every attack.

"You should just let me kill her now and get it all over with." Her father said smirking at Whitebeard.

Whitebeard glared at him. "Akito, you are the one who deserves to die!" He smashed his fists on either side of him, causing a huge quake heading right for them, aiming to rip them to shreds.

"Daddy don't!" Crystal screamed grabbing onto him.

It was too late as her father soaked up the attack in the dark ball and laughed maniacally holding the ball up into the air. They still had not moved from their spot as Shichiro laid his hand upon the ball and allowed it to soak up his powers.

"You should have learned the first time Hikari No Tenshi," Her father laughed. "Everyone you let close to you will die."

Shichiro flinched remember that the same thing happened to him.

"Everyone that is around you deserves to die. Accepting someone like you? Pah! Ridiculous!" he yelled infuriated.

"Say good-bye to everyone now. It's like having a bonus. I kill you, and everyone who is against me." He said glaring his red eyes at the group, making them quake and shiver in fear. "Sayonara!"

"YAMETE!" She screamed rushing forward.

She pushed her palms up as her arms drew their full length preparing to slam the attack with her hands. She internally called Ryuuji feeling his power well up inside of her. Flashes of light happened around her as she looked up with power and the attack slammed into her hands. It pushed her back slightly, her feet pushing into the ground and making marks where she slid, but it stopped where her hands were and continued to spin.

It exploded with her there right in front of it, sending dust, dirt, rock, and power surging around everyone. Akito let out a long victorious laugh as he felt proud for killing his daughter, the one he wanted to get rid of all this time.

"She deserved it! Going against me and ruining everything! She got what was coming to her!" He said laughing.

"Father," Shichiro said staring with wide eyes as the explosion cleared.

Marines and Pirates began to appear making him glare and stare in confusion until Crystal came into view. She was floating in the air as red, orange, gray, brown, pink, yellow, and green light swirled around her protectively.

"Impossible!" He said under his breath staring at her.

The dragons, including Shichiro's, had surrounded her protectively, giving her the strength she needed to stop the attack. She looked up and Akito and Shichiro instantly flinched from her gaze as it showed a fierce strength that wouldn't be squashed easily. You could see the dragons' powers swirling inside her eyes as she floated down and took steps forward, her feet not even touch the ground. She looked like a ghost warrior as she walked across the distance and stood a few feet from them.

"Leave," She commanded. She thrusted her hand down, and an incredible force slammed them down into the ground, keeping them pinned there as if gravity itself were against them, and no amount of strength could help them.

"This is impossible!" Akito shouted glaring at her. "You shouldn't be able to control that many dragons!"

"Then you don't know me very well." Crystal said, her voice echoing with all the dragons' voices inside of her.

"I am your father! You can't kill me!" He shouted at her.

"No! You are NOT my father!" She seethed furiously at him. "Whitebeard is my one and only father! Nothing will change that! You are nothing but a rotten criminal scum that needs to be wiped out."

His body shook in fury as he yelled out and pushed himself up, creating cuts all over his body as he fought against the pressure willing him down. "This isn't over!"

He snapped his fingers and they quickly disappeared. Silence fill the island as everyone stared in wonder and excitement as the scene processed in their minds. Cheers exacted out around her as she turned and smiled at all of them.

"Crystal! You did it! You showed that we can defeat them!" Sakura said happily as she hung onto Marco and helped him up.

"All of you are alright though?" She asked worried staring at everyone.

A pressure lifted from her chest as everyone slowly nodded, got up, and dusted themselves off, giving her a proud smile.

"We're all fine Crystal." Garp said smiling at his granddaughter. "We all believe now that we can win."

She let out a short laugh as a smile appeared on her face. The power inside her quickly disappeared as the dragons flew out of her and back to their owners, leaving Midori and Ryuuji standing before her.

"Yugata…" She fell forward as her strength and energy depleted instantly.

"Crystal!" Garp yelled rushing forward and catching her.

"Sorry." She said looking up at everyone surrounding her with a small smile and heavy breathing. "It seems I can't stand right now."

"It's because you took on seven dragons at once! Your body can hardly handle one!" Whitebeard said worriedly.

Boris walked over quickly and took her vitals, giving the numbers to Chopper as he nodded his head and helped diagnose what she needed.

"It seems her body is just tired." Chopper said with a sigh. "She needs rest."

Boris stared at Crystal hard, looking closely at her. He took a sharp breath in as he noticed what had seemed so wrong to him. "Crystal,"

She looked up at him and saw the look in his eyes. Everyone looked at him with confusion until they saw his look of worry and fear as he looked down at her.

"Garp let me see her." He commanded the Marine.

"No, I'm fine!" She said trying to sit up.

Boris didn't wait as he grabbed her arm and made her face him, grabbing her chin, and making her look off to the left and up. His breath came in sharp again along with everyone else's as they spotted what had caught his attention.

"Why didn't you tell me it progressed so far?" He asked seriously, slightly shaking her.

The black spot had spread down her entire left arm, down her chest and slightly on her stomach as it reached its icy tendril to her heart, surrounding it like a crescent moon. She looked away from all of them, yanking her chin away from him and covering her shoulder, but not doing much to cover it as it spread so far.

"It spreads the more you use your power doesn't it?" He asked as he dropped onto his heels. He held his head in his hands and looked at her worriedly. "We don't have much time left do we?"

She clenched her jaw and gave a slight shake of her head. "No, we don't."

"How long have you known?" He asked her quickly.

"About three weeks." She said still not looking into anyone's eyes.

"Whitebeard," Boris said standing up. "I know this is going to sound incredibly selfish on my part, but I need you to listen to me."

Crystal waited to hear him tell Whitebeard to make her stay away from the fight, to not let her fight and risk her life with the poison anymore.

"We need to head to the fight now!" He said instead, making her head snap up and look at him.

"Are you crazy?" Ace yelled grabbing his collar. "She's here exhausted and drained and all you can think about is going into battle?"

"Whitebeard." He said again, yanking Ace's hands away from him and staring at the Admirals, and Whitebeard. "All of you have to understand, that if we wait till the day we planned, Crystal could be gone. She has a limited amount of time now, and we have no clue how much. We need to finish this quickly and help her."

Whitebeard looked helplessly at his daughter as she looked at Boris in surprise. She looked at her father and pushed up off the ground, forcing her to stand. She wobbled a bit as her legs threatened to fall beneath her and stop her from moving at all, but she stood her ground and stared at her father and the admirals.

"This is our only chance Daddy. Boris is right, let's attack now when we know we have scared them, and now that we know I can control more dragons!" She said looking at him strongly. "This is the only way we'll win and give everyone their freedom and rights that they deserve."

"Crystal! Don't do this!" Ace pleaded as he placed his hand on the small of her back and stepped in front of her, cutting off her line of sight to the others.

"Ace, you have to understand, I know what I was getting myself into. And if I just wait and stand here I'm going to die with nothing to prove. At least now if I die, I will have died fighting for what's right." She told him hanging onto his arms tightly and looking into his eyes. "I promise that if we fight, we will get that antidote and heal myself!"

Ace clenched his jaw tight as he stared into her unwavering gaze, hoping that somehow she would change her mind.

"I can't lose you, not again." He whispered looking at her pleadingly.

"You won't, I promise, you won't lose me." She said gently and warmly.

Whitebeard looked at the two and waited as Ace let out a sigh and stood next to her, keeping a supporting arm around her waist and dealing her weight on himself. He nodded to his captain showing he was on board with the plan. Soon others stepped forward and agreed, sending Whitebeard and the Admirals into a silent question.

"All right! Let's get going!" Whitebeard said, throwing everybody into a ready cheer.

Crystal smiled at Ace as he picked her up quickly in his arms and walked towards the ship. "You need to rest as we get ready to set sail." He told her gently as he lay her on his bed.

She nodded and watched as Ace left quickly, everyone gathering their things, and supplies they would need for their trip. Soon every ship was prepared with weapons, food, water, and supplies they all needed.

"Whitebeard!" Hikaru shouted from on the shore. "Take care of her! Ace! If I find out she cries again! I'll kick your ass!"

Ace flipped him off making the island owner laugh and salute them off. Ships set sail and let the wind carry them off into the waves and sea, preparing for the battle that was soon to come.

"Where are we going?" Thatch asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Midori will help us." Crystal said wobbling out of the cabins and out onto the deck.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Ace asked accusingly.

"Shut up," She laughed. She walked onto the figure head and everyone watched as the green dragon appeared next to her and touched her necklace gently.

She unclasped her necklace, sending everyone into a spiraling fear as she removed it. She looked back and laughed as she held it up and a green light filtered out of it.

"I transferred Ryuuji into my body. He has agreed not to do anything while the necklace is off." She told the Admirals making sure to explain why she wasn't going to lose control.

"How is that possible?" Aokiji asked staring at her in wonder.

"Me and Ryuuji have a much stronger relationship now. He no longer wishes to try and take over. He wants to destroy my parents just as much as I do." She said with a smile.

She hooked her necklace on a pole in front of the wheel, creating a self made log pose with her necklace, directing them towards the direction her parents were.

"Now what do we do?" Thatch asked waiting.

"Now we wait." She said walking over and leaning back against Ace who sat on the railing of the Moby Dick.

He lifted her up and sat her in his lap, keeping a strong hold around her waist as one leg propped up on the outside of the ship and the other hung loosely on the inside of the ship. They stared off into the ocean their hearts beating with anxiousness for the battle that would soon ensue.

"After this battle is over, we cannot promise we won't come after any of you in the future." Kizaru pointed out to her.

"I understand. After all you're Marine's and we're Pirates." She smirked at them. "It wouldn't be any fun if we didn't have Marine's after us."

"Crystal!" Luffy whined as he swung himself up on board and hung onto her stomach. "I'm hungry!"

She looked at Thatch, Sanji, and all the other cooks for the crews and smiled. "Well then how about we cook us up some food!"

They quickly prepared a feast and set it out, Pirates and Marines mingling on all the ships and partying with sake and beer all around. The Marine's finally letting go of their code and drinking as well.

"Never would have thought we'd be helping the pirates." Tashigi said to Smoker.

"That girl can change a lot of people." He said simply with a smile.

Crystal continued to sit on Ace's lap as her strength slowly regained itself, but left her exhausted still until she could get some much needed sleep. She relished in the feel of Ace's arms around her, and his breathing through his chest. She could feel his laughter vibrate through his chest as he laughed at his brother and crewmates for the stupid things they were doing. Ace knocked out suddenly making everyone laugh as he fell backwards. She shook her head and stood up, walking off to a quieter part of the ship.

"The party not fun enough for you?" Shanks asked appearing next to her with Dragon.

"I just needed some air." She said truthfully.

He leaned against the railing as Dragon took a swig of sake and looked at her. "Do you honestly believe we can win this?"

She looked at him and didn't even have to think about it. "Yeah, I do."

"You're a strong girl." Dragon said with a smile as he ruffled he hair. "Don't do anything reckless. Not a single one of us wants to see you die out there."

She looked away from him and out to the sea, feeling the clench of fear in her chest.

"You don't expect to come out of there alive do you?" Shanks asked her knowingly from her look.

She shook her head continuing to stare as the wind washed over her face and chilled her nose with its cold fingers. "Even if we get the antidote. I don't think I'll make it."

"You promised Ace you'd make it out of there alive." Dragon said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I said I would never leave him. That he would never lose me." She said matter of factly. "And he won't, I'll always be there with him."

"You don't seem as scared about it as I thought." Shanks said smiling at her.

"Honestly," She said taking a deep breath. "I'm terrified. I don't want to die. I don't want to lose anybody here. And I definitely don't want to fight my parents. It scares me so much my heart stops and my body freezes, but I can't let them continue to strike fear into others for their happiness and greed. They need to be stopped." She told them.

They stared at her with pity and content, both of them draping their arms around her shoulders.

"I promise we'll fight as best as we can to keep you alive no matter what. We'll all get out of there alive and victorious." Shanks said leaning his head against hers.

"Can't let Ace get angry and depressed." Dragon teased, but instantly took it back as he saw her guilty face. "You'll stay with him ALIVE. No matter what. Even if we have to bring you from the dead and drag you out of there."

She laughed as she stared at the two next to her, grabbing their hands and squeezing tight as her fear subsided and she readied herself for what was to come. She went back to Ace, waking him up from his sleep and laughing as he hung onto her like Luffy would to a piece of precious meat. Sooner or later most fell asleep and the calm night air sent everyone into a peaceful reverie.

But those awake knew that what was coming was going to determine everyone's life or death. There was no turning back. And whether they guessed it or not, most knew Crystal was going in there on the guess that she wasn't going to come out.

* * *

**Hello Mina! NOTE TO ALL READERS: I really hope this isn't selfish, but I know that on deviantart people can create fan art of stories they like off of fanfiction, quizilla, etc. Well I have an accout called TenshiNoCrystal, but I recently realized I can't draw worth crap! X3. SO I was wondering if any of you would be willing to create and draw my OC's (any of them), even the couples and post them on Deviantart. If you'd be willing to, please message me on here or on deviantart. Please and Thank you!**


	33. Male vs Female

**All rights to One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei. OC's belong to me! And Mayumi, being the only exception to the OC's, belongs to chien16youkai!**

**THank you to those who messaged me saying they could not help me with the idea for the drawings! I still appreciate you telling me you couldn't! I'm still hoping for others to help! So please message me!**

**R & R**

* * *

Crystal ran out quickly onto the deck, running away from Ace. She jumped up onto the edge and laughed as he dove after her, making her dodge and ran towards her father. She climbed up him as if he was a mountain and sat on his shoulder, sticking her tongue out at Ace.

"Come on! We just want to see you in other clothes!" Ace said with a huff.

"We saw you in that dress and now everyone wants to see you in girl clothes!" Marco laughed.

"Then use Sakura!" Crystal pouted hugging her father's head. She shuffled over till either of her legs was on either side of him.

"She already dresses like a girl! Besides you're the one we want to see change!" Thatch said joining them.

"Come on just a couple outfits!" Sabo said chuckling.

"You guys don't realize how hard it is to be a girl!" Crystal complained with a shout.

"How about we change that?"

A man appeared on the edge of the deck in a magicians outfit from out of nowhere. He was hovering over the wood barely before landing gently and taking off his hat as he stretched his arm across his stomach and gave a slight bow.

"How about you all experience how the other gender feels?" He asked with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked with a glare.

He twirled his finger in the air before snapping his fingers and a huge cloud of purple smoke formed over the Moby Dick.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing?" Crystal yelled angrily as she jumped off her father's shoulders that oddly felt smaller. And was it her or did her voice sound gruffer.

The smoke cleared and she stifled a gasp as she looked down at herself. She was now in a man's body in her own clothes still.

"WHAT THE HELL?" She heard behind her from the ship.

She turned and her jaw dropped in utter shock as she stared at the crew, who was now screaming like girls…..literally girls…..they had all changed their genders! She now stared at the Whitebeard crew with breasts, hips, curves, and legs.

"Please enjoy yourselves." The magician said bowing politely to them again before disappearing in a puff of purple smoke.

Her clothes felt tight on her as she quickly ran into their room and tossed on some of Ace's clothes. She walked out and blushed as the girls now guys were covering their faces in irritation, and the guys now girls were staring at their chest and nether regions.

"Would you cover yourselves!" She yelled at them in frustration.

She walked up to the guys and smacked them over their heads. She looked over and noticed Ace looking down at his chest with a smile. She furrowed her brows as she looked at his chest that was a big as hers was. She reached out and grabbed his breasts in both of her hands and squeezed making him squeak and blush bright red.

"I see the reason why you like them so much! They're so soft!" She said with a smirk on her face. She jolted and looked down at herself as a bulge was forming in Ace's borrowed shorts. Her face reddened brightly as she let him go and covered herself. "What the hell just happened?"

Ace began laughing uncontrollably as he looked at Crystal. "See the pains of being close to you? I have to control myself quite often."

She heard men's laughter behind her and turned around glaring at the group of guys that are her sister and girlfriends.

"Shut up! At least all of you had t-shirts! I had to change!" She said trying to relieve at least some of her embarrassment.

"Oh ho! Look at these bodies!"

Crystal turned quickly and threw whatever she could find at the others staring and toying with their own bodies. "Stop doing that you pervert's!"

She covered her face, feeling the sharp, broad angels of it now. She quickly went into the laundry room and grabbed as many shirts as she could find. She threw them at the guys quickly and made them put them on before they took it any further.

"That was interesting." Smoker said bracing his elbow on her shoulder.

"Is it weird that I find you male crewmates hot now?" Garp asked looking at them with a blush.

"Who ho!" Luffy said jumping onto their ship. "Ace you're a girl now!"

Ace wrapped his arms around her shoulders, but had to change to her waist as she was much bigger now in the male body. Crystal could feel Ace's chest press against her and the same problem grew as her face reddened and she felt the need to attack him and do very perverted things to him. She scrubbed her hands across her face and short hair trying to make the thoughts go away.

"Would you please put a shirt on." She growled, without her intention on sounding like that.

Ace saw her struggling and did as she said, not wanting to make it harder for her, knowing full well the pain it is to hold it in. Marine's and Pirates alike crowded the Moby Dick as they tried to flirt with the new found girls and tried to touch them as they did to themselves. Guys crowded around Ace hungrily, making his heart beat faster with the uncomfortable feeling of something about to happen. Hands tugged on his clothes that hung onto him lazily, and the hands soon tried to roam all over him.

"Oi! Don't touch me there!"He yelled at them making fire appear and scorch them lightly.

Crystal felt a flash of anger as they touched him, but a smirk formed on her face as she thought that it would be the perfect thing to show him how she felt being near all the guys and looking like she did.

"Oi! Help!" He yelled pleading for her.

She waved her hand in the air at him, walking off towards the other girl's and watching the scene with a smirk. She looked over at the others and noticed their faces red and their hands down in front of them.

"Not so easy huh? It's not funny either." She said understanding what was going on. They shook their heads, watching the guys be molested by the males that were on the other ships.

Crystal was tackled from behind, but she remained standing as she kept her balance.

"So does that make you my brother now?" Luffy asked hanging onto her like the monkey she is.

"Shut up," She chuckled, flipping him over her shoulder and throwing him to the floor. She began to tickle him, pinning him to the floor, and loving the strength she had now against Luffy.

Ace raced forward out of the others grasp and hid behind Crystal, gripping onto her arm with a glare towards the others.

"Okay, okay." Crystal said looking at his face. "Enough!"

They ignored her as they continued to try and get their hands on the bodies in front of them.

"Stop!" Whitebeard yelled slamming his bisento into the deck.

"Daddy! Cover up!" Crystal yelled at her father as he was also shirtless and baring his chest out for everyone to see.

He looked down at himself and pulled his arms through his coat that still hung over his shoulders, covering his chest enough to be pleasant. He looked at all the other men and dared them to keep touching his crew.

"Well that's no fun!" Nami said as her, Robin, and Akira walked onto the deck and grabbed Crystal's arms. "Though I have to admit, you're hot either gender."

"Yes, quite muscled." Robin said with a smile as she looked Crystal up and down.

"I see why Tadao was infatuated with you. I'm infatuated with this self." Akira said licking her lips.

Akira pushed forward and kissed Crystal on her lips, making her blush and pull back quickly, stumbling back and putting the back of her hand to her lips.

"W-w-what are you d-d-doing?" She yelled at Akira.

The girls seemed to be edging closer to Crystal, making her become uncomfortable all over again.

"Why does this happen no matter what gender I am?" She yelled taking off running towards her father, hoping to seek some kind of refuge.

Ace watched in wonder as the girl's chased after her with a glint in their eyes, and he now knew the uncomfortable feeling of having people all over you that you didn't what to touch you. She didn't even get a break when she was a guy, but now he understood why she hated being around other people. He would too if they were always constantly trying to touch him.

"No!" Crystal shouted appearing behind him as she ran around the whole ship. Her arms went around his waist and pulled him close. She pressed her back to the wall and held him in front of her, making his skin tingle.

Ace would have never thought a girl's skin could be so sensitive to a single touch like that. He knew why she was happy with just holding his hand or sitting in his lap while he always wanted more. He leaned against her feeling his face heat up in embarrassment.

"Oh?" Sakura said noticing his face. "Getting embarrassed Ace?"

"Getting jealous because I know how to take charge?" Crystal countered back before Ace could say anything.

Sakura pouted her lips as she walked over to Marco and wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him over and away from the group surrounding him.

"I want to have fun!" Mayumi said enthusiastically as she picked Thatch out and pulled him over to her quickly, hooking her thumbs into his pants and leaning her head on his with a smirk.

Crystal shook her head, wondering how that girl had so much guts in one body. She looked at Lily and nudged her head to Sabo. "Go on, we all know you want to."

Lily blushed, then shook her head, taking in a deep breath, and marching over to Sabo, leading him to the edge of the ship and making him sit on the edge as she leaned back into him, using her body as a shield from the others.

"What about us?" Jozu asked helplessly.

"You're on your own!" Crystal laughed sticking her tongue out at them. "Not letting Ace out of my sight! He may just get raped!"

"We may get raped!" Vista argued swinging his swords around to create a space for himself away from the others.

"Well who knows…. You could all be secretly gay!" Crystal teased making them glare at her and try to fight off the men around them. "Not so fun now huh?" She laughed at them.

"Ace, this doesn't seem good." Marco said standing next to them with Sakura.

Crystal and Sakura let them go, watching the others carefully and waving Mayumi, Lily, Sabo, and Thatch over to join them and get away. Marco slammed his hand onto the wall next to Ace's head and leaned in close, his eyes looking like he might die as his skin paled.

"Ace we need to solve this. I don't know how much longer I can take." Marco whispered his mouth next to Ace's ear.

"See? I always knew you two had a gay side!" Crystal joked crossing her arms over her chest and smirking victoriously at them.

"It's not like that!" Marco yelled at her with a glare.

"Aw, she's so cute when she's mad!" Sakura said patting his cheek and smirking at Crystal.

Marco's face blew up as he leaned against the wall and let out a huff staring at them with a glare.

"We really need to figure out how to undo this." Mayumi said walking up and giving a curt nod to Crystal.

"I agree, I can't take being a guy anymore. My brain doesn't work right." She said placing her hand on her forehead and shaking it.

"Hey!" Thatch said looking at her hurt.

"Well, it's not my fault! It seems all you guys think about is perverted thoughts, touching us, and how to show off how big all of you are!" She argued before sighing and turning her back to them. "Forget it. I'll solve this somehow."

"Well this whole problem was because the guys were misunderstanding how we felt when they tried to do things to us." Lily offered up looking at the guys with a pointed look.

"SO we have to get all the guys to understand that it sucks with people doing that to us?" Mayumi asked with a defeated grunt. "Joy."

"They'll figure it out sooner or later." Sakura said nodding her head to the others, seeing how they were becoming annoyed by the problem in front of them. "They just need to figure out it's not so easy being a female with all guys."

"Well it may help if we help them get away." Crystal said letting her arms drop. "Let's do it!"

The girls nodded as they walked forward and one by one pushed the other males away and kept them on their ships and away from the crewmates.

"Done!" Crystal said dusting her hands off and glaring at the others, daring them to try and come back.

"I'm beginning to like this." Whitebeard laughed loudly looking at his crew hide behind the former girls.

Luffy walked up and circled the others, making them keep away from him and huddle with each other. Crystal wacked him over the head telling him to stop being a creeper.

"It doesn't seem fun to be a girl." Luffy pointed out looking at her.

"It's not a lot of the time." Crystal said letting out a breath and standing in front of all of them. "We're smaller, more fragile, and weaker than males."

"We have to deal with periods every month." Sakura added in.

"We have to carry a baby for nine months then give birth to it." Mayumi groaned thinking of the pain.

"We are always expected to do nothing but cook and clean. So no one really see's potential in us." Lily growled knowing full well that was how people saw her before she met Crystal.

"And it's no fun when all guys want to do is touch you and do perverted things to you." Crystal finished looking at Luffy with a frown.

"But as you said, that's all we really think about!" Marco argued looking at her.

"Yeah, true." She said shrugging her shoulders. "But you have to explain that to the girl, especially if you're pushing your limit. It's better than suddenly touching her without giving her a warning."

"Girl's like romance!" Mayumi told them putting up a finger. "They want hugs, kisses, snuggling, and kind words. If you give a girl that, they'll give you what you want."

"Girl's do like you to be gentle, but they also want you to be a bit rough with them. We know we're not going to break, so don't treat us like we are going to." Lily said holding up two fingers.

Sakura held up three as she looked at them next. "Girl's like it when you're protective. So don't act like its okay for other guys to come near them. But don't be so protective you grow jealous and not tell them anything!"

"Girl's like it when guys show them they are equals. They don't want to feel inferior." Crystal said looking at all of them. "And don't ever force a girl to do what she doesn't want to. Just as you guys have your own comfort levels, we have our own. I don't like to wear dresses and skirts unless I have to." She told all of them pointedly. "If you give a girl all this, she'll give you all you need."

The guys stared in wonder at the simple explanation they gave them.

"What about when all of you are emotional? What are we supposed to do then?" Jozu asked with his arm raised.

"Stick it through. It shows you can listen and deal with the situation well. Plus to a girl it shows that you are brave for listening to her, yet kind and strong for dealing with it." Sakura told him.

"Usually if we're emotional it's because there was a misunderstanding or fight." Lily said thinking about it.

"But other times its because we're frustrated because we've held it in the same as you guys do." Mayumi said wiggling her eyebrows to make them catch on to what they were saying.

"Guys aren't the only ones who become stress when they need release." Crystal said, putting emphasis on 'release'. "Know how to tell the difference between these. It's harder for a girl to tell you she needs it than for a guy."

"This is some good advice." Shanks said smirking from the edge of the ship.

"Whoever thought girl's could be so simple." Dragon said shrugging with a smirk.

The males saw those two on the Moby Dick and thought it was an invitation to join. Crystal quickly ran to the edge of the ship, ready to put up a barrier as the others formed a small wall around the guys. Crystal stood on the side of the ship with her hands up, blocking the men from coming onto the ship.

"Do all of you understand now?" Whitebeard asked them with a smile. "Girl's have it just as hard, if not harder, than men do, in almost all aspects."

They all nodded their heads in agreement making a quick puff of smoke go out on the ship. They looked down at themselves and cheered as they found themselves back into their normal bodies, with everything on it and in place.

"Thank god! We're back to normal!" Marco yelled happily, picking up the female, once again, Sakura.

"KYA!"

Everyone turned to find the barrier dropped and the males all staring at one place with hungry looks with fantasies of all kind flitting through their minds. Crystal stood there on the side of the ship with Ace's short's barely hanging on her hips as they tried to slide off, her hand desperately trying to keep them up as her other arm tried desperately to cover her now bare chest. Her face was beet red, trying to curve her body in itself to hide her exposed chest.

The second she moved to cover herself, the barrier had dropped and soon the males charged after her, making her jump back onto the ship and look helplessly at them. Garp flew through the air knocking a few of the marine's away, as Zoro and Luffy punched a few of the pirates, blocking them from her. Sanji kicked a few of them away and joined them, but broke his resolve as he looked back at her and a nosebleed broke out. She stood there in her small figure barely keeping the shorts up and holding her chest to herself.

"Angel-chwan!" Sanji said his nose bleeding, hearts in his eyes, and body turning into silly putty as he twirled towards her.

"Don't touch her!" Chopper yelled turning into his human form and punching Sanji away.

A few of the men got past and charged after her, making her step back and kick at them. She let go of the shorts, letting them dangle on her hips precariously, and held onto her chest as she punched a few more, while dodging grabbing hands directed at her.

Fire pushed the males back as she tripped and fell back into a hard chest. An arm curled around her and pulled her into his, covering her front against his body and away from the others sights.

"What do you say guys? Shall we protect the girls now? Just as they said?" Ace said smirking.

They fought them off quickly, leaving Crystal in the hands of the other girls, and letting her change into twisted top, and her short shorts, leaving her boots off in case she needed to fight. When she came back out, the others were all on the floor defeated as the guys stood over them with victorious smirks on their faces.

"That's hot," Crystal said blinking at how cool all the guys looked standing over the bodies of the ones they defeated and knocked out.

Mayumi fanned herself as she breathed out and smirked at Thatch. "More like I'm hot."

"Damn, maybe we shouldn't have given them the advice." Sakura said looking at them with a raise eyebrow and mischievous smirk.

"Maybe we gave them a bit too much help." Lily shook her head trying to calm herself.

"No, they listened well. I guess we'll just have to give them their presents tonight." Crystal growled seductively. Sakura and Lily flushed at the thought of doing that with Marco and Sabo, making Crystal laugh. "It will give you two a chance to hook up with them finally! I will force you two into separate rooms with them and won't let you out until you do otherwise."

"I'll help with that!" Mayumi teased linking her arm with Crystal's.

"So we get prizes?" Ace said behind her.

"Sounds like a good one too." Thatch said chuckling.

Crystal let go of Mayumi and turned, a smirk playing on her face. She walked over carefully before linking her arms around his waist and inside his shirt, nuzzling her nose against his neck while biting his ear. "How bout it? Can you wait till tonight?"

"Careful. Any more of that and I'll just carrying you back there now." He said giving her a quick kiss on her lips. "I can wait for tonight. Especially now that you gave me advice and what you like." He wiggled his eyebrows making her laugh.

"Do I get the same prize?" Thatch asked Mayumi stretching his arms around her waist and swaying from side to side.

"Nope," She said making him stop. "My prize is going to be much more fun than hers."

Thatch chuckled from the smile forming on her face and bit her neck gently. "I can't wait."

Crystal looked at Sakura and Lily and raised an eyebrow, telling them to get a move on before she takes matters into her own hands. Sakura was first as she walked over to Marco with a blush on her face. She tugged on his sleeve making him look at her questioningly.

She opened her mouth a couple times, but kept closing it as her face continued to deepen in color. She tightened her grip on his sleeve, telling her to get a grip and go on with it. She knew Crystal was doing this because she knew how she felt about Marco, and now was her chance to act on it. She rose up on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Meet me tonight?"

He stared at her with wide eyes, then his usual smirk appeared on his face and looked down at her. His hand wound to her back and his thumb hooked into her belt loop. "Of course. Thought you'd never ask."

The blush deepened, but a smile formed from ear to ear on her face as she looked up happily and excitedly at Marco. Lily took a bit longer as she looked from Crystal to Sabo and back, not sure what to do really. She was always the shy one and never knew what to do in these kinds of situations, but if Crystal and Sakura could find their guy and get the courage up to ask, then she would too.

She walked up quietly to Sabo, standing in front of him with her face slowly turning red. She looked up at him carefully and bit her lip. She opened her mouth, but closed it quickly, pinching her lips together as they looked at each other. Sabo smiled as he took off his hat and leaned down to her. His lips quickly pressed to hers, before he pulled back and smiled his toothy smile.

"Do I get a prize?" He asked her.

She blushed crazily as she smiled and nodded her head. "If you would."

"I'd be honored to." He said grabbing her hand.

Crystal smiled as all her friends soon got the one they wanted. Including her friends form other ships.

"Well that was a dud! We don't get any girls!" The others complained as they let out a huge huff.

"Are you so sure about that?" Crystal asked pointing towards a ship that had blended in with the others, but wasn't one of their allies.

They turned and stared with wide eyes as the whole ship was filled with women who were now staring flirtingly and seductively at the men.

"Never mind, I like the advice!" They shouted waving at the women.

"Oyaji! Can we stop by on their island?" One asked as they spotted said island in the distance.

"Just let them." Crystal said looking at her father with a smile. "They deserve it."

Whitebeard laughed as he patted his daughters head affectionately. "I guess they do. Are you sure we can spend some time there?"

"Yeah," Crystal nodded, before smiling up at her father. "Besides, I think all the guys have had too much stimulating today with all the girls. They need to let it out. I really don't want to sail with them if they're going to be strung up."

Whitebeard laughed loudly as he looked at his daughter's serious face, and knew she was right in that aspect of the trip. They followed the women to their island and found it almost like a festival there as they instantly put on a feast for them.

"You are Hikari No Tenshi, are you not?" One came up asking her.

She looked at her carefully before nodding her head. "I really hope you're not here to destroy me."

She looked appalled at the idea as she quickly bowed to Crystal. "I hope we do not come off that way, we were hoping to greet you kindly."

"Oh! No, you have greeted us kindly, I just wasn't sure. When someone comes up asking me that they usually are working for my parents." Crystal explained hastily.

"No, we hate your parents, they destroyed our crops and village, making us start all over with our lives." She said with hate. "We want to help you before you fight them. If we can help with food, water, weapons, anything, feel free to ask."

"Thank you," Crystal said her eyes softening and her smile lighting up the space with everyone.

The women stared at her in wonder, before cheering and starting the music. They ate with the show, with fun and games going on, jokes, singing, dancing, any kind of fun they could soak up right then. Crystal felt a hand lay on her knee making her stop drinking, before realizing the warmth it was radiating, and setting her drink down and smiling at Ace. His thumb aimlessly stroked her knee, not moving up closer, finally understanding how that could feel.

Crystal scooted closer to him, placing her hand in his and setting it in her lap on her upper thigh. "This is why I like being near you." She began to say looking off towards their brother Luffy and him dancing on the table happily. "You understand how I am. There are sometimes when you don't, but you soon learn how to see them." She smiled up at Ace and kissed his knuckles, rubbing her thumb across them. "I like it when you touch me."

Ace groaned, standing up quickly from the table, and tugging her along with him, away from everyone else. She jogged with him, confused on what he was doing and where they were going. She all you could hear was the music and the voices were gone, Ace dragged her into a small alleyway, pushing her against the wall. His lips fiercely attacked her, pushing her to the wall and enjoying the taste of her on his lips. He pulled back straining to control himself and looking at her.

"I can't hold it anymore." Ace told her his voice gruff and deep, sending a shiver down her spine.

She smiled up at him, tilting her head up and kiss below his jaw. She grabbed his shorts and hooked her thumbs in them, pulling his hips against hers. "See? It wasn't that hard to tell me was it?"

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close as his other hand cupped her cheek and pulled her back to him. He pushed her to the wall and lifted her up enough for her to wrap her legs around his waist. He kissed down her neck and to her shoulder as his hand created swirls on her stomach as it traveled up to her top. Her hands traveled up his stomach and chest, tugging the shirt off his shoulders in the process.

This time, both understood each other and knew what the other wanted. It was a night where male and female could understand the boundaries and the wants of the other. A night where not only Crystal and Ace were together, but where relationships like Akira and Tadao, and Mayumi and Thatch were deepening, and new relationships between Sabo and Lily, Marco and Sakura, and Luffy and Nami were forming from their feelings.

Crystal was going to relish in tonight and every touch Ace gave her, because she knew that soon they wouldn't be able to stay next to each other. They were going to have to fight with all they had. She wasn't going to lose Ace like at MarineFord, and she sure as hell wasn't going to give her parents the satisfaction of winning against her. She was getting her brothers and mother back, and destroying her father once and for all.

Crystal found herself in a small cot, lying on Ace's chest with her body pressed to his side, as she woke up. They must have walked into a house at one point and taken refuge for the night. She hated to know who would have walked into their house to find them like this, but shrugged her shoulders as she slipped out and threw on her clothes quietly.

She kissed Ace on his cheek, before walking out the door and looking for the woman that had greeted her at the feast. She finally found her, trying to clean up from last night; Crystal picked up some of the plates and trash and helped her clean up.

"You said you would help right?" She asked her.

The woman stopped and looked at Crystal before nodding her head in agreement.

"You know my parents and how they fight. Can you help us make weapons that will deal with them? I have taught them how to fight, but they need weapons that are just as good." Crystal explained.

The woman smiled as she finished up the trash and looked at Crystal proudly. "That is one thing I know we can do to help!"


	34. Prophecy

**All rights to One Piece goes to Eichiro Oda-sensei! All OC's go to me (So please don't steal or take, if you want to borrow just ask) but the exception of Mayumi who goes to chien16youkai!**

**I hope ya'll are getting excited! I know I was when I finished this! I wanted to write the next chapter already! Hope you like this one! Wait for what is to come!**

**Love you all!  
R&R**

* * *

"Do we have everything?" Marco asked the crew, making sure everyone had grabbed the new weapons the women had created for them.

"Thank you so much," Crystal said as she bowed her head to them.

"Are you sure you know how to use these?" The woman said with a worried glance.

"I'm sure, most of us can adapt from different weapons." She told her reassuringly with a warm smile.

"Please be careful on your journey." The woman said bowing to her in appreciation.

The Whitebeard Pirates loaded up all the supplies they had, including their newly made weapons, and left out to sea once again. A week passed with no other information on where they were going or anything else on the matter.

"I can't take this!" Smoker said, climbing from the Marine's ship to the Whitebeard's ship. "Where the hell are we going?"

He stormed over to Crystal, stopping in front of her and glaring down at her in irritation. Crystal looked up at him from Ace's lap and sighed, standing up and grabbing his cigar out of his mouth. She put it out on the deck and smiled at him.

"Keep that out and I'll tell you. I don't want smoke in my face." She told him gently. "Would you like to explain Kizaru? Aokiji?"

"Oh?" Kizaru hummed looking at her.

"The last location I had known of Rin and Akito Hijiri and their hideout, was at an island you Marine's used to use very often." Crystal said leaning back.

"Where's that?" Coby asked her.

"I don't remember what the island was called, but it was notorious for its prison, just as equal as to Impel down is now." Sakura helped explain a bit further.

"One as notorious as Impel Down?" Helmeppo scoffed.

"Yes, just as good as Impel Down, maybe better." Aokiji said with a nod. "Sadly some of the prisoners got loose and started to destroy the place from the inside out."

"Later, because of the destruction it was burnt down, and the prisoners inside with it." Kizaru finished as he told them its history.

"Why didn't you rebuild it?" Smoker asked, crossing his arms.

"We didn't want the same risk of prisoners escaping." Kizaru told them. "We decided to transfer all the remaining prisoners to Impel Down, and ignore the island completely."

"To think they have been hiding under our noses this whole time." Aokiji groaned. "How did you know about the islands history?"

Sakura looked down, not wanting to answer that question and remember what happened.

"Our parents took us there." Crystal answered for her, crossing her arms. "Our parents saved some of the prisoners that day under the Marines watch. Our parents were determined to make me and Sakura go on their side, so they took us to the prison and made the prisoners exact the same punishment on others as they had on themselves."

Garp sucked in a breath as he remembered some of the punishments. Lashings to the body, burns and scalding hot water, Kizaru's sharp light, Aokiji's freeze and then breaking that limb apart, Sakazuki's magma touching them, cuts to the body, extraneous exercises till they collapsed, surgeries, electric shock, stretching the body, and many others.

The admirals clenched their jaws thinking of how young the two twins were when they saw such a horrible sight, yet they still decided to fight against their parents.

"To think you two had to see that." Garp said sadly as he looked at them with pity.

"I just had to see it," Sakura said through clenched teeth, she was angry at her parents, but not for that. "They weren't worried about me. Crystal was openly against them, so they made Crystal not only see it but witness it."

"What?" Garp gasped, looking at Crystal in shock.

Everyone stared at her as she began uncomfortable and unconsciously began to rub her arm and side. She looked down at the deck as she sighed and walked to the side of the deck, sitting on the railing to get some air away from the others.

"Crystal could heal a lot faster and better than anyone else in our family." Sakura told them, trying to get them to take the hint. "You can guess what they did. Repeatedly."

"How old were you?" Aokiji asked, actually worried for the answer.

"Three," Crystal said bluntly, her eyes growing dull. "I was three years old."

"So young," Garp said.

"Back then," Crystal started, interrupting any other pity the others were going to give her. "I could have easily been broken if not for my siblings. I watched as my parents would use their powers on others. Sending them into a dark place until they were numb and cold. Controlling their minds and making them do unspeakable things."

The others began to gather around and listen as they watched her sit there, staring at her hands as if something was on them.

"My parents forced people to take fealty underneath them, use them to do their bidding, and to kill others if they went against them. They would take out whole towns, killing men, women, and children alike if they dared went against them." Her hand twitched as her fingers curled and her eyes grew incredibly dull. "No matter how much they screamed or cried, they still killed them. They wouldn't even kill them quickly; they would slice them or shoot them just enough to where they would bleed out to death. They would make the family watch the whole thing, starting with the father, then the mother, and leave the children screaming, crying, and broken as they watched their family die one by one."

No one knew what to do as they listened to her story, seeing it how she experienced it all her life, knowing, finally, how rough she had it growing up.

"Even those that worked for them, and whole heartedly want to help them in their efforts would be killed or hurt severely if they did something wrong. Screams, crying, begging, nothing affects them when they feel betrayed. They always made me watch, telling me if I wasn't careful that the next time they would make ME do the killing. They knew I hated using my power; how much I hated killing people and seeing them hurt; how scared I was in doing so. But that never stopped them." Crystal began to shake uncontrollably as her eyes grew wide and tears formed at the edge of her eyes. She lifted her hands and stared at them, placing the heel of one hand on her ear. "There was always so much screaming. So much crying. Little children begging not to have their families taken. Parents begging for their families lives to be spared. There was always so much blood."

"Crystal!" Ace yelled as he was suddenly in front of her, gripping her by her arms and shaking her enough to snap her out of it.

She looked up at him with those wide fearful eyes with pain and hurt. She was still shaking as her breathing grew heavy and shallow, looking at everyone who were now on the Moby Dick watching her in pity and hurt.

"I-I'm sorry," She said faintly looking at everyone. She wiped her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to calm herself down, but it did nothing for the shaking that was controlling her body. "I-I don't know what got into me."

Ace cupped her cheek, making her look at him, as he wiped his thumb along the side of her eye, grabbing the water she missed. "It's okay. You're safe now. You're with us."

"This is why we took her away from our parents," Sakura said as she placed a comforting hand on her sister. "She became just like this, and we didn't know what to do. Her smile no longer had the light and warmth it did before, and slowly disappeared till it no longer came. She no longer looked up, and she was always by herself. We had to get her out of there."

Crystal nodded as she took her sisters hand and hopped off the railing, smiling at everyone. "This is why I'm determined to stop my parents!" She clenched a fist in front of her determinedly as she looked out over the ship. "Ever since I was saved by my siblings I have been helping those whom my parents have taken, and done wrong to! Trying anything I can to set their lives back on course as they were before."

"She has been gathering villages and families who are parents are after now, and taking them to a safe place where her parents can't reach them." Sakura added smiling at her sister.

"Onee-chan has gone against our parents any way she can, so they won't gain control over the government, and reach the title of ruling the world!" Mamoru pitches in as he smiles also.

"But why wouldn't Sengoku help them?" Garp asked incredulously. "He was the one who set the standards for the Marine way!"

"I bet my mother is controlling him." Crystal told him, her face becoming serious. "I told you, she can control people as long as she can get into their minds. I expect that she got into his mind once and planted herself there so she can persuade him towards the things and ways she wants to go towards their plans."

"So you're saying he may not even realize what he is doing?" Aokiji asks getting the explanation.

Crystal nods her head. "If anyone of you were being controlled by her before I told you all of this, you wouldn't have known either, but because I have explained to you what she can do, you know what to expect. Anything that is different from how you normally are and think, and something you know you wouldn't do."

"How do you stop her from controlling you?" Marco asks, stepping forward.

"We don't know," Sakura answered for her sister as Crystal shook her head and sighed. "All we can tell you is that you'll have to try with shear will power alone. Our mother is strong."

"Then how do you expect us to stop her?" Phoenix yells out in irritation.

"My mother was not always bad! She was kind and caring, before Akito saw she wanted to take us away from him! He inserted darkness into her, taking her towards his path and making her the way she is!" Crystal argued with him, her anger growing. "My mother never laid a hand on us, even when Akito started controlling her. If I can get her away from Akito's control, and take the darkness out of her, we have a great chance of winning all of this!"

"How do you know?" Garp asked with a raised eyebrow.

Crystal looked at her father and breathed in. "Before any of this was formed my older brother Shichiro came and tried to take me away. He was working for Akito, and you could tell by his red eyes that he was being controlled. Yet when he had the chance to harm me, he didn't." She looked at all of the pointedly and harshly. "You all have someone you hold close to you. If you were being controlled and told to harm that person, wouldn't you fight against it? That is exactly what my family is doing right now. Shiciro, Takeru, and Mom are all trying to fight against him, even if it's just so that they won't harm me, Sakura, or Mamoru."

"Akito," Sakura began looking at Crystal before continuing. "He really does love our mother. No matter if she betrays him or not, he will not harm her. He turned her to his side for the sole reason so that he can keep her and not harm her."

"So they're doing all this to rule the world?" Coby asks quietly, cupping his chin in thought.

Crystal nodded as she looked at the young boy. "They are after One Piece."

"What? Why?" Kizaru asked intrigued.

"Roger told all the pirates that One Piece is the greatest power out there. Strong enough to do good or evil, and strong enough to rule the world if used." Crystal told them simply.

She saw the stares the Whitebeard Pirates were giving her, wondering why she hasn't told the Marine's yet that SHE is said treasure that everyone is after. She gave a slight shake of her head to all of them, telling them not to say a word. She didn't want the Marine's knowing she was One Piece, it would not only give them another reason to arrest her, but it would ruin the dreams of all the other Pirates here who didn't know that she was the treasure Roger spoke of. Plus she knew that there could be an off chance that her mother finds out through their minds if all of them knew, and she didn't want her parents knowing that she was One Piece until she was ready.

She glanced at Jinbei, Shanks, Ivan, Dragon, Rayleigh, and Luffy, and giving them the same slight nod, and mouthing to them 'later'. They nodded understanding she would explain to them later on what she was planning and why.

"The best thing we can do now is to practice all we can before we get there." Sakura said, quickly taking them off their course of questioning that was bound to reveal the hidden truth.

Crystal let go of her sister as she quickly walked past all of them.

"Where are you going?" Whitebeard asked curiously.

"I need to know how I did before when I fought Akito. I honestly have no clue what I did." Crystal told him as she looked at her hand in confusion.

Whitebeard nodded. "I will try to keep it from the others so they don't bother you."

Crystal smiled at her father as she jumped onto his leg, and kissed his cheek sweetly. "Thank you Daddy."

He smiled at her warmly. "I'm glad you still call me that after all of this. You don't know how proud I am to have a daughter like you."

She looked at him surprised before warmth burst into her chest and she looked at her father lovingly. "You'll always be my Daddy, no matter what happens."

She practiced by herself in the bottom of the ship, hoping to tap into whatever power surge she had before, but everything she did ended up in a complete dud.

"Figured you needed some help." Sabo said with a smirk as he knocked on the door frame and walked in.

"Perfect timing." She said breathing heavily.

"Take a break first."Lily told her gently, following after Sabo and making her sit down for a moment to regain her energy.

Crystal watched as Sakura, Mamoru, Marco, Ace, Tadao, Luffy, Akira, Thatch, and Mayumi all walked in, watching her with a smile, and ready to help her. After she rested and got her energy back, Crystal stood up and dusted herself off.

"Ryuuji," She called out, sending her dragon around her in his silhouette form. She looked up and saw the others, nodding her head. "Momo," The pink dragon rose out of her sister and into Crystal, wrapping around her body protectively with Ryuuji.

A great force hit inside of Crystal making her body feel as if it had been shot, making her gasp and fall to her knees clutching her heart. She braced herself with her hand as she breathed heavily and clenched her teeth.

"Crystal!" Sakura said running forward.

Crystal stood up quickly and held up a hand. "No! I have to practice to be prepared. I'm not going to be the only one who isn't using their full power!"

She breathed in again as she called out Ryuuji and Momo once again, this time ignoring the shooting pain as it lanced through her and into her chest. "Chi," She called out for her brother's yellow dragon. The dragon wrapped around her, sending more pain into her as her body threatened to collapse.

Again the same result happened. She didn't give up as she kept getting back up on her feet, taking in yet another dragon. When there were no others she could take in she had the others try and attack her, seeing how much of the power she could use, yet hold in, at the same time. The dragons dispersed from her quickly, making her look around at the others in confusion. A wave of dizziness overcame her as the world tilted underneath her and she fell backwards.

Ryuuji appeared out of her and caught her gently, picking her up and looking down at her in irritation. "Do you not learn?" He asked angrily. He looked up at the others as his eyes glowed red and he jerked his head towards the door. "Leave."

"But Ryuuji," Sakura said stepping forward.

"We just want to help Nee-chan." Mamoru added in.

"LEAVE!" Ryuuji yelled at all of them, his voice booming off the walls and making the others jump in surprise. They give him once last look before scurrying out the door, leaving the two of them down in the ship alone.

"You are so stupid!" He yelled at her as he sat her down against the wall. Her breathing had become shallow and heavy, and her eyes were going in and out of focus.

"I'm just trying to use that same power that pushed Akito back before." She told him in irritation right back. "I don't want anyone else suffering because of him."

"Don't you understand?" He yelled at her, dropping into a crouch in front of her. "I thought you would have gotten it after Momo and Chi! You're body already can't handle me alone! If you add more dragons, your body will die faster!"

"Not if I become stronger," She argued feebly. She tried standing up, but her arms shook as she dropped back against the wall.

"That has never worked for you before, and you know it." Ryuuji growled at her, making her freeze in fear. He had never looked at her before like he was at that moment; with anger and unwavering determination. "You know that the stronger you get, the stronger I get, and you won't be able to control me even further." He grabs her chin and makes her look at him in the eyes. "If you take in all the dragons, YOU WILL DIE."

She sucks in a sharp breath as she let these words hit her, sending a guilt bullet into her heart. She already figured she wouldn't make it out of the battle, but she still had hope that she could.

"I can't let you die. I have been here with you your whole life. At first I hated you, I truly did." He confessed. "I hated how you wanted me to help others and do good. I hated that you always smiled and laughed no matter what. Yet I also saw that those were just to make others happy. You smiled because it made others smile. I was there when you cried in your sleep, when you were all alone in your room. I watched as you fought against people who you thought were your friends, but ended up betraying you and trying to kill you." He sighed as his eyes grew soft and he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "I can't let you die. People will lose their way without you around to help them. Including me."

Crystal looked at him in surprise as she tried to register on his face whether he was joking or not. But when she saw the uncomfortable, embarrassed, truthful expression in his eyes, she knew he had changed from how he used to be, and was telling her exactly how he felt at the moment.

"But Ryuuji, I'm sure if I can learn how to control all of them and become stronger, we can win this!" She said positively.

"Is it worth giving up your life and making everyone miserable?" He shouted. He clenched his fist before slamming it into the wall.

He turned around and walked to the other wall, before sliding down it, straight across from where Crystal was sitting. He looked at her hard before taking in a deep breath and filling the room with an old story Takeru used to tell her all the time. The story of Hikari No Tenshi:

_" A child of light will be born into a family of darkness. A family that was once good, but then turned evil by the powers of the dark. The child will be betrayed, hurt, battered, exiled, and have many other hardships thrown at it, but it will not fear what it is against because it also has those who are good, caring, warm, truthful, respectful, brave, and protective on its side, and willing to help it. The child as it grows up will experience help of all kinds in all aspects, but as soon as the child gets comfortable in its life, it will lose everything it has. The family of darkness will not let the child become good and get what it wants, so they will destroy all the child has to try and make it go to their side. The effect will become the opposite as the child is pushed against them with this final act and will swear to destroy them so they will not and cannot harm another person dear to it. It will need to feel both the good and the bad, see the good and the bad, hear the good and the bad, and understand the good and the bad to truly know what it is up against on both sides. A strong power beyond any other will be given to the child, one that it may not be able to control and handle in its condition, but it will still fight to control it. This power can be used to both destroy and create new life, to make or end an era with ease. The child will grow and soon become a young adult worthy of others affections and help, they will soon see the young adult as not a child of dark, but as that of a person of light. The parents of the darkness will once again seethe against the young adult as it nears its eighteenth birthday and will reach its maximum strength and power, and what it has obtained in its life, they sought after taking it all away from it once again. The young adult will then have a new mission of destroy the two and making the suffering and torture they beseech onto others end. Yet in the battle, they will soon come close to losing, the young adult made of light will need to make a decision as those it hold most dearest to it may perish. The child of light will use the last of its strength, power, and energy to give up its life and fight against the darkness. The child will die and its life will leave, but as the others mourn and give up hope, the child will have shown how much it is made out of light and will become Hikari No Tenshi. Becoming this angel the child will be able to destroy the darkness and restore all to how it once was before it affected anything at all, turning those back to how they were, healing those who were hurt, and giving solace to those who have lost another. But the child of light will not live long; when the darkness is gone and all is good once again, the child's life still would have been lost."_

As Ryuuji finished the story Crystal was reciting it in her head, remembering Takeru telling her this story all the time when she was just a child.

"I remember that story." Crystal sighed relieved. "It's why Takeru gave me the nickname Hikari No Tenshi."

Ryuuji face grew dark as he looked at her with shadowed eyes. "That's not why he called you that."

"Huh?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"You ARE Hikari No Tenshi." Ryuuji told her, his face turning grave. "This story is everywhere. Told by all, read to all, and is even on poneglyphs everywhere. The story of Hikari No Tenshi is your life. Recall it and see for yourself."

Crystal was wary as she recalled the story once again into her head, seeing as she went along and matching them up to experiences in her life. As she reached the end she opened her eyes in shock and began to shake in fear. "T-that can't b-be."

Ryuuji wouldn't even look her in the eye now as he stared into his lap and at his hand. "Ask Whitebeard and the crew, they have seen firsthand of when Hikari No Tenshi has come out of you and helped protect them."

"But if that's the truth, then…" She gasped as her hand flew to her mouth.

Ryuuji's fist clenched as he clenched his teeth in helplessness. "Your fate is the same as Hikari No Tenshi's. I swear to you, I won't let that happen, I'll fight to keep you alive no matter what."

Crystal could see how much Ryuuji was struggling with this, and realized he had known all this time and has been suffering on his own, knowing she was going to die before she was eighteen. "It's okay."

Ryuuji shots his eyes upwards at her as she shakily gets to her feet and stumbles over to him, feeling her energy already regaining itself from before.

"It's okay," She told him again as she smiled down at him and held out a hand. "I have everything I ever wanted right now. I have things I never thought I would have ever received in my life, and now look at me, I've gotten much more than anyone thought possible!" She smiled at him cheerfully.

"But Crystal," He said still sitting on the ground. "It's your own life you're giving up."

"If it's to save the people I love, and make sure they are safe and happy…" She said, taking his hand and making him stand. "…then I'll risk a thousand of my lives to do so."

Ryuuji let out a shaky laugh as he looked down at her with sadness in his eyes. "This is why I can't lose you. You are too innocent and kind for your own good. You keep me the way I am."

"But Ryuuji," She told him, patting his hand and moving his hair out of his eyes. "This tells me how I can use the dragons all together. It tells me that we have a chance to win this."

Crystal gives him once last smile before she turns towards the door and is about to leave. Ryuuji grabs her arm and makes her stop and look at him, his eyes turning serious and worried.

"Are you going to tell them?" Ryuuji asks her in a serious tone.

She shook her head lightly. "They'll only worry about me and try and prevent it from happening. They'll worry more about me than the battle, and that's not something we need right now. They need to worry about defeating my parents before they start trying to save my life."

She looked away and breathed in, looking at the door sadly. "I'm not saying that I'm not scared, I am, but I'm more scared of losing one of them, more than I am on losing my own life right now. I accepted the fact years ago that I may not live to a very old age, whether it was by my parents, an accident, or my body failing me in controlling you, I knew I wouldn't live very long." She turned and gave him a reassuring smile. "Please, help me protect them. They are more precious to me than anything else."

Ryuuji lets her arm slide out of his grip as he looks down at the floor boards, composing himself before he looked at her again. "I will try my best."

He disappeared inside of her once again, leaving before she could say another word. He wanted so much to shake her and yell at her, trying to make her see his side, and agree to stop this nonsense now and find a different way to stop her parents.

But he knew that she DID see his side of the story, that's exactly why she was doing it. She saw his side, and how he wanted it to go, but the endpoint still would turn out with her dying by the poison no matter what they did. She was trying to be brave and reasonable for both of them.

"Oi!" Marco said, waving his hand up on the deck as she came through the door. "Was wondering when you were going to come back up."

"Did Ryuuji lecture you?" Sakura teased giggling.

"Yeah, I thought my ear was going to fall off!" Crystal laughed as she rubbed her ear for effect.

"Ryuuji can be kind of protective can't he?" Mamoru said with a smile.

"Yeah, but it's in good intentions." She told him with a smile back.

She grabbed Ace's hand and twined her fingers into it as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her against him, kissing her neck sweetly and laying his chin on her shoulder.

"When are we going to train tomorrow?" Sabo asked with enthusiasm.

She shook her head. "No more training."

They all looked at her in surprise, before they turned to suspicion and watched as she smiled and waved her hand in the air to dismiss the reasoning.

"Ryuuji says its too dangerous to push myself right now." She told them, "He said I pushed it too far tonight. He told me to rest before the battle."

"But what about learning how to control the dragons?" Lily asked still suspicious.

"I already know how to control the dragons! I think using all of them will come naturally to me like it did when I was fighting Akito last time." Crystal told them, and making the others noticeably relax.

Ace could hear the tone in her voice; the edge she had when she was forcing herself to say something other than she knew. Her body was tense beneath his, and her heart had sped up. Something was going on and he didn't know about it, but he could guess it was something serious enough she couldn't tell them without making them worry.

His grip around her waist tightened as he told himself in determination that whatever she was hiding he would protect her from it and keep her safe. He wasn't going to lose her this time. He kept a firm hold on her all through the night, and stood close the days to follow as they drew nearer and nearer to the retched destination they all feared.

Their nerves were anxious as they were all ready for the battle that was soon to come. But Those around Crystal could tell by her acting that something was going to happen, that she found something out they wouldn't like. Whitebeard feared for his daughter as her birthday neared and she would soon turn eighteen.

No one knew what would happen when she turned eighteen. They all just hoped they could make it that long and hope it was something that could help them and not hinder them. Let the battle begin.


	35. Battle Begins

**All rights to One Piece belongs to Eichiro Oda. All OC's belong to me. And Mayumi goes to a good friend name chien16youkai.**

**Here's the next chapter! I'll try to write the next one soon! Keep reading!**

* * *

"We're getting closer." Ryuuji told Crystal.

He looked over at her and noticed the intense stare she was giving the sea, the look of worry washing through her eyes.

"What is it?" Ace asked walking up behind her, setting his hand on the small of her back, and kissing her neck sweetly.

She looked at him and gave a slight smile, leaning her weight on his side as he held her close. "It's too quiet."

A small laugh erupted from his throat. "And that's a bad thing?"

"When it's dealing with my parents, yes." She said.

"We'll be prepared." Ryuuji told her.

Ace gave him a side-long glance, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He looked at her once again and saw the determination in her eyes, and the unyielding in her stance. He sighed knowing she wasn't going to give anything up anytime soon. "I don't know what you're hiding," He told her, squeezing her waist.

"What? I'm not…" She began to say to him, her eyes wide in surprise.

He placed his finger on her lips, making her shut up as he continued. "I believe you're doing this for the best. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay."

Crystal stared at him for a minute, her eyes still wide in surprise and her jaw firmly locked. He took his finger away and she looked at him lovingly as she smiled at him warmly. She placed her hands on either side of his face. "This is why I love you so much." She told him.

She brought him down for a kiss, pulling him close and kissing him deeply. His arm went around her waist, as his other hand cupped her cheek sweetly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on the tips of her toes to push into him. She pulled back for air and laid her forehead upon his, giving his lips a small peck.

"I never get tired of that." He said with a smile. "Always like to know you're becoming more perverted."

She laughed and mock glared at him as she smacked his shoulder playfully. She linked her hand with his, letting the unease leave her for just this moment.

"How can you be so lovey dovey at a time like this?" Marco asked annoyed.

Crystal tilted her head and smirked. "Aw, you mad because you haven't got laid by my sister yet?"

"Crystal!" Sakura yelled as her face exploded red.

Marco's jaw dropped as the Marine's and Pirates there laughed uncontrollably.

"Just telling the truth…." Crystal said shrugging, then looked at her sister. "…unless you have something to tell me?"

Sakura blushed and shook her head quickly, looking like a spastic doll. "Not that….but…."

Crystal let go of Ace and hugged her sister. "I know, I already guessed it." She gave her sister a smile and nudged her shoulder. She looked at Marco and knocked his arm lightly. "Treat her right you hear? If not, you better run." She joked with him, making him let out a small chuckle, his ears darkening.

An electric shock shot through Crystal, making her suck in a breath, and freeze as her eyes widened and her fists clenched.

"Onee-chan?" Mamoru asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Her breathing came quickly and heavily. She looked up quickly and out towards the sea once again. "Something's coming." She said loudly, warning everyone.

An explosion happened on the ocean, sending water into the air and pattering down on everyone and the decks. Yells and shouts of surprise went out on the Marine's deck as some were thrown over the deck and into the water.

"Found you,"

Crystal whipped around quickly, looking behind her. A hand shot out towards her, knocking her in the chest. Energy exploded into her chest and sent her flying back and over the edge of the ship. Ace caught her quickly before she went over, bringing her close.

"Shichiro!" She yelled, looking up at him with a glare.

A laugh erupted out of his chest as he watched her anger flare up. She felt the energy still reside in her, but it wasn't harming her, helping her theory. A familiar gruff laugh erupted behind her, sending chills down her spine. The Whitebeard pirates turned and stared at their old comrade as he gave them an evil, toothy grin.

"I'm back, _Angel_." Blackbeard laughed maniacally.

Ace clenched his fists, glaring at the man he swore to take down and exact revenge on for Crystal and Thatch.

"Nice to see you again Thatch," Blackbeard told him sarcastically. "Though I think it would have been easier if you were dead."

Ace lunged forward, fist enflamed, taking a swing at him with animosity. Marco flew forward, changing halfway into his phoenix form and kicking out at Blackbeard. Darkness flew up around Blackbeard like a barrier, flinging out at the two men and making them dodge the attack quickly.

"Keep your attention her, lil sis." Shichiro said, appearing behind her again.

Crystal kicked backwards and up, aiming for his chin, but made him jump back in surprise at the planned attack. She raced forward, hearing fights happening all over the ships as the others tried to fend off the growing enemies that were coming towards them. She threw a punch at him, watching as he blocked it with his arm, grabbing her wrist and twisting her arm behind her, slamming her to the deck.

"Crystal!" Sakura yelled, running towards her.

A sea king rose out of the sea with a growl, whipping a tail at Shichiro threateningly. He jumped back, giving Crystal time to jump up quickly and rub her arm in pain, feeling her shoulder blade pop back in quickly. Sakura stood next to her sister protectively, keeping her eyes on Shichiro.

"We'll give you one last chance Crystal," Shichiro warned. "Will you come with us?"

"Hell no." Crystal told him, poison dripping off both words.

Shichiro narrowed his eyes at his two sisters. He glanced at Mamoru, who was fighting two men with swords that were trying to slash away at him. He picked up his arm and vines flew out of his clothing, wrapping around Mamoru's throat, picking him up off the deck.

"Mamoru!" Crystal shouted.

She rushed forward, desperately trying to get to her brother. She grabbed a dagger that was on the deck, and jumped up, slicing at the vines off of Marmoru.

"Grab her," Shichiro said gruffly.

Blackbeard swept past Ace and Marco, using his darkness to cover him up and slip into the cracks of the deck. He appeared behind Crystal and grabbed her around her arms, locking her tight enough her bones shrieked in protest. Crystal let out a gasp as her breath was squeezed out of her; she threw her head back in pain, hitting Blackbeard in the nose and sending him grunting in pain. Ace threw a fire bullet at Blackbeard, hitting him in the back and making him cry out in pain. Crystal felt his arms loosen just a tiny bit, and took the chance to squeeze through and slip out of his arms.

A scream was heard over the deck, a scream that sent chills down Crystal's back and made her blood run cold. She turned her body quickly and looked at where the scream was; what she saw was worse than what she hoped. Sakura was standing there, thorns piercing her skin as vines wrapped around her tightly.

"Let's see what a little electricity does to her." Shichiro said.

"Shichiro! Don't! Stop!" Crystal screamed helplessly. "She's your sister!" She looked at Marco helplessly. "Marco! Help Sakura!"

He turned and saw what Crystal was talking about, but was too late as Shichiro sent an electrical shock through the vines and straight into Sakura's blood. Her scream shook Crystal to the core, making her body seize up and freeze, too scared to lose her sister again.

"S-STOP IT!" Crystal screamed, eyes turning red.

Ryuuji burst out of her, zooming towards her brother, and flashing his dagger like teeth at him. Shichiro dodged effortlessly, hitting Ryuuji and sending him farther behind Shichiro.

"Your actions have consequences."Shichiro told her. His vines let Sakura go, letting her drop, as he grabbed her quickly and tossed her over his shoulder. "Maybe this will change your mind."

"Sakura!" Crystal shouted, running for her, but couldn't move as Blackbeard grabbed her again and held her tight, her bones screaming in pain.

Ace hit Blackbeard in the jaw, sending him spinning and letting Crystal go again. Marco came up and stood in front of her, blocking her from Blackbeard, letting his Zoan devil fruit come out again.

"Go help her." Marco told Crystal sternly.

Crystal nodded, though Marco couldn't see her. She ran quickly towards her sister, but frowned as Shichiro smirked at her victoriously. He snapped his fingers, another explosion setting off in the ocean and rocking the boat hard, sending Crystal to the floor sprawling with the other Marine's and pirates.

"See you soon, little sis." Shichiro said.

"No!" She shouted, watching as her brother with her sister over his shoulder, disappear into the air.

The men they were all fighting, soon dashed off the deck quickly, and disappearing just as Shichiro had. Crystal caught sight of an electronic device they pressed to disappear, knowing her father and mother had put their power to create the devices.

Groans of pain, and shouts of worry went over the deck for people checking on one another, until everyone realized they were all okay and no one was seriously hurt. Crystal sat up, staring at the spot her brother and sister just were, dazed and unbelieving to what just happened.

"No," She whispered, not wanting to believe it all. "This can't be happening. Not again."

Mamoru walked over to his sister, kneeling down worriedly as he looked at her face. "Nee-chan," He said worriedly.

"Not again, please not again." Crystal repeated over and over.

"Nee-chan! Snap out of it!" Mamoru said, grabbing his sister by the shoulders and shaking her.

"It's all my fault!" She screamed at her brother. "They took her! They're going to hurt her! And it's going to be all my fault again!"

"Crystal!" Thatch said, making her look at them. "It's not your fault."

"They took her because I wouldn't go with them!" Crystal screamed. "She's not strong enough to fight them!"

Ace jogged to her and wrapped her in his arms, holding her back against his chest. "She'll be okay. We'll help her."

Crystal held her face in her hands, keeping the tears back and remembering the scene once again. Sadness drained out of her as determination and anger filled it spot, sending her adrenaline into overdrive, and her body to turn rigid. She looked up, eyes hard, set, and flashing red. She breathed in deeply before placing her hands on her knees and standing up steadily and surely.

The others looked at her surprised, her brother and Ace standing up and watching her carefully. She looked at her father and glanced at the other men, before looking at Marco hard, and then lastly at her brother.

"I'm going to get her back." Crystal said sternly. "I won't let them take her from me…no us…again."

Marco nodded his head as a sad smirk formed on his face, showing the sadness he felt with her gone and kidnapped.

"They've pissed me off for the last time." Crystal told them. "Now they better watch their backs."

Mamoru gripped her arm, Marco walked up and clapped her hand as he nodded his head, Thatch gave her an encouraging smile, and Ace put his hand on the small of her back again, showing he was there to help her when she needed him.

Crystal stood by the figure head, watching the seas carefully. Everyone was on alert and watching over their shoulders now, waiting to be attack once again. A large gate soon came into view, making everyone tense and grab the weapons they would need.

"Here." Sabo said walking next to her.

She glanced down and saw the belt loaded with daggers, and the long katana he was holding towards her. She took the belt and strapped it comfortably around her waist, making sure it wouldn't come loose from movement. Finally she grabbed the sword and it's sheath and tied it on her back.

"Stop the ship!" The scout said, yelling down to the captain.

The ships stopped just before the gate. The wall let off a gentle shine, glowing in the oceans light. Crystal looked at the Marine Admirals and Vice Admirals reach toward it, going to throw it open. She held out her arm, sending wind at them, and pushing their arms back.

"Don't touch it," She told them, "It'll send you sailing back into the ocean."

The Admirals and Vice Admirals pulled their arms back as they stared unsurely at the wall now that they knew what it would do. Crystal jumped up onto the figure head, and walked forward until she was arms length from the wall. She reached out and lay her hand flat on the wall; a burst of energy flew out around her, like a contained room of air being let loose. Wind whipped around her hair, sending it all over around her, and making those behind her covered their faces from the harsh wind blowing.

The wall lit up around her hand and rippled out like waves until it was completely lit up with a blinding light. The door creaked open slowly, swinging inward towards the battle ground they were soon going to face. Crystal jumped off the ship and onto the floor that was slowly coming into view.

"Nice to see you came," Akito said, coming into view. Sitting in a chair with his head lying on his fist. "Did you're….back up….ditch you?" He twirled his wrist.

"This isn't going to be that easy," Crystal seethed, walking in her normal attire, but with a fierce glare and determination and anger in her stride.

Row by row the Marine's and Pirates appeared behind her, equipped with weapons, and prepared for battle.

"The Marine's?" Akito asked, lifting his head on his fist. He smiled devilishly, looking at the group behind her. "Perfect." He snapped his fingers.

Hoards of men appeared around him, evil smiles and smirks on their faces, an evil glint in their eyes. Reporters and news casters flitted out, pencils and pads at the ready, along with microphones and snail cameras at the ready.

"Reporters?" Kizaru asked surprised.

"Going to back out, Marine?" Sabo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not," Smoker sneered at him, tightening his grip around his weapons.

"Attention! Attention! The Marine's have joined up with the Pirates!" One reporter shouted into his snail phone, making the camera catch all of them.

"The Marine's have gone bad! Do you hear me? The Marine's have gone to the other side!" Another shouted, eyes widening in shock.

"Seems as if the Marine's have dropped all they go by!" Another remarked.

The Marine's clinched their jaws in irritation as they glared at them. Fists tightening over their weapons as they tried to hold back the need to knock the words out of the reporters.

"Hey!" Crystal shouted, glaring at the reporters. They jumped at her shout, and stared with wide eyes at the furious pirate. "You want a real scoop?" They grew excited as they head up their snail phones and pencils. "Do you see who the Marine's are fighting against? They are Akito and Rin Hijiri! The only reason we are working together is because the Marine's have us under their control!"

The reporters dropped their jaws as the Marine's looked at Crystal in surprise at the lie she told world-wide. Yet the Pirates did nothing, knowing she was helping the Marines keep their good reputation where it was. The reporters looked up at Akito and watched as Rin walked out dazedly and stood next to her husband.

"Ah, the truth is out," Akito said shrugging. He sighed and stood up, darkness coming up and swallowing the chair he was sitting on. "But this just makes it all the more fun."

The reporters cowered back from the men standing next to them and from the two notorious murderers that stared at them as if they were a new snack and toy to them.

"I'm pretty sure I know what you want." Akito said. He turned to Rin and cupped her chin, a loving look in his eyes. "My dear, please fetch them for me."

Rin nodded her head, turned and flicked her hand towards an open spot on the platform. A platform rose up out of the ground, making Crystal gasp and stare with intensity. Sakura was struggling against two men who were holding her against her will.

"Sakura!" Marco shouted out, looking at her with worry.

"Let….her….go." Crystal seethed out between her teeth.

Akito widened his eyes before glaring at her with hate. "Why don't you come and get her?"

"My pleasure." Crystal said quickly.

She disappeared and reappeared next to her and the men. She gave them and fierce red eyed glare before grabbing two daggers and throwing them at the men, sending them howling in pain to the ground as they gripped their shoulders where they hit.

"Crystal!" Sakura shouted with tears in her and her arms thrown around her sister's shoulders.

Crystal's eyes widened in horror as she grabbed her sister's arm and slung her away from all of them. "Marco!"

The Phoenix flew up to her and caught her gently, shielding her from the onslaught of weapons that flew at them suddenly. Crystal attacking two of the men set a wave of fighting and attacks around the grounds. Weapons flew through the air as the two sides charged towards one another, clashing against one another. The reporters hid in fear as they dodged the attacks, but proudly kept on filming the battle for the whole world to see.

An explosion happened next to Crystal as she let Sakura go, sending her away from the spot and hitting the ground roughly. Ace came up and hit a man that was trying to hit her with a sword, making him be sent flying from her.

"Watch out!" Crystal yelled to him, jumping off the ground. She tackled him to the floor, making him move just as a sword threw down at him.

Shichiro stood there determinedly with a frown on his face and sword gripped firmly in his hands, pointed at his sister.

"Will you be okay?" Ace asked watching as she unsheathed her sword and held it up to her brother.

"Yeah," She nodded to him. "Go help the others." She nudged her head towards the battlefield where the others were having slight difficulty. "Stay safe." She told him gently.

He nodded his head, jumping down to the battlefield, hitting men left and right and taking them down. Crystal squared up to her brother as she held the sword tightly.

Shichiro lunged forward and struck out with his sword, swiping to the side, as she blocked it, hearing metal on metal. Shichiro attacked faster and faster, trying to catch her off guard as she continuously blocked him and dodged.

Maniacal laughter was heard throughout the field making her look up and glance at Akito who stood ther with a tight hold on her mother. Shichiro lashed out at that moment when she wasn't paying attention, making it too late for her to dodge or block him. Metal on metal was heard again as she glanced at the green hair in front of her.

"Go get that bastard," Zoro told her, gritting his teeth against her brother's strength with the swords.

Crystal nodded her head, sheathing her sword and running towards Akito with daggers draw. "AAAAKKKKKIIIIIITTTTTTOOOOO!" She shouted running at him angrily. "Ryuuji!" She yelled, summoning her dragon.

The red dragon flew out of her and at Akito, roaring as he brought his nails that were as sharp as daggers back, and flashed his teeth at him threateningly. Akito narrowed his eyes as he frowned, lifting his hand up and out as if telling Ryuuji to stop. Ryuuji ran into a barrier of darkness, flinging him to the side and stopping his attack.

Crystal came up quickly, sword over her head, as she jumped up and swung her sword down at him. He looked up and smirked, flinging another barrier up as it clung to her sword and whipped her to the side, making her skid across the platform roughly, and knock into a wall. The breath escaped her as the force caused her body to freeze and desperately grab for breath and strength.

Akito grabbed the sword and picked it up, walking over to her slowly as she tried to lift herself on shaky arms.

"Don't touch my daughter!" Whitebeard shouted, flinging men away from him as he slammed his fist into the air, making it spider-web away from him.

Akito was flung far away as the platform cracks and shifted, sending the people nearby to the ground in shock. The sword skidded across the floor, landing in front of Crystal as she gritted her teeth and picked up the sword. She glanced over at her father and saw Blackbeard sneaking up on him with a frown and slitted eyes.

"DADDY!" She shouted, flicking her head up.

Wind picked up and sent Blackbeard back a couple steps, giving Marco and Ace enough times to attack Blackbeard. Sakura looked at her sister and opened her mouth, a shout of warning escaping her mouth for her sister. Crystal turned and blocked just in time for Akito to slam another sword down on her own.

Crystal gritted her teeth in struggle as Akito gained leverage and started to push her sword down closer to her neck. She braced her hand on her sword, ignoring the pain and blood pouring down her arm as she pushed back against Akito. She gained leverage over him as she slowly got to her feet and stood, standing face to face with him as her eyes flashed wildly at him.

"Give me my family back." She growled at him.

"What are you talking about? They're right here." Akito tormented her. "They just decided not to help you. Too bad you got your sister and younger brother first, I'm sure they would have turned against you too."

"Liar! You're making mom control them!" Crystal growled, pushing her sword and flinging him back.

She thrusted her hand out towards him, fire exploding out in front of him, smoke rose up from the fire making him shield his face from it. Crystal used the distraction to run forward and duck down beneath the smoke, giving her a clear view of where he was standing.

"DIE!" She shouted, swinging her blade up.

Crystal's body froze up, just as her blade touched his throat, making a trickle of blood slide down the blade. She gritted her teeth as her body strained against itself, and pulled the sword away from his neck. Her body straightened itself and dropped the sword, taking steps away from Akito.

"Good timing my dear." Akito said, smiling at his wife with pride.

Rin walked out into Crystal's view, keeping her eyes on her daughter as she watched dazed.

"Mom," Crystal strangled out. "Mom, please, don't let him control you."

"Shut her up," Akito commanded, eyes narrowing at her.

Her mother lifted her hand and clenched it into a fist; Crystal's airways closed as if a hand was tightened around it, blocking off all oxygen. Crystal let out a strangled cry as her eyes begged her mother to stop. Akito looked on with a smile as he examined his wife's work.

"Let's see how much she can take." Akito said snapping his fingers.

Rin dropped her hand as she twirled her wrist, giving Crystal her air back, and letting her control on Crystal disappear. Crystal dropped to her knee's, with hands pressed to the pavement, as she gasped for the air her lungs were striving for.

Rin snapped her fingers and a piercing pain erupted in Crystal's head, sending her doubling over and gasping. A scream escaped her lips as the pain intensified.

"Crystal!" Ace shouted.

He ran, leaving Marco and Whitebeard to fight Blackbeard. Shichiro dropped in his way, slashing two daggers at him, one nicking his arm, and bringing blood to the surface. Ace stared in confusion at the weapons, until he saw the greenish hue it held, and realized they were made out of sea stone.

"Ace," She gasped, gripping her head in her hands tightly.

She stood up slowly, glancing at Ace as he desperately tried to dodge the daggers, bringing out his own in the process. She stepped backwards, reaching the edge, as she desperately looked at her mother.

"Mom, look at me." Crystal said, pleading with her. "I'm your daughter. Look…look what he's making you do."

Rin twitched as she looked at Crystal and how close she was coming to the edge of the platform. Akito saw the twitch and glared at Crystal, grabbing his wife in worry.

"Kill her!" Akito commanded. "Kill her, I say!"

Rin looked helplessly at Crystal, her eyes growing brighter, and the red draining out. Her blue eyes appeared, looking at her daughter worriedly. "Crystal," She whispered sadly.

She jerked her arm back, letting the control completely go, and making the pain escape her mind. Akito growled as he grabbed Rin's arm roughly. Darkness rose up out of him, and went through his hand, covering her mother quickly and seeping into her.

"No!" Crystal shouted looking at her mother.

Her mother's eyes grew dull, and they turned red once again, Akito gaining control of her. Crystal gave one last look at her mother, as she tried to fight against the darkness trying to take over. She jumped from the platform, flipping backwards and flying through the air away from her father and mother. She landed on her brother Shichiro, knocking him away from Ace, and sending the daggers out of his hold and reach.

"You okay?" Ace asked out of breath.

Crystal nodded her head, swallowing for her dry throat. "Yeah, thought you might one some help."

Shichiro snapped his fingers, causing his men to surround him. The charged the two quickly. Sabo kicked one in the head, as Luffy came up and punched another with his pistol. The four siblings stood back to back ready for a fight.

"You know, I see where you get your stubbornness and fighting ability from." Ace joked.

"Just wait till you meet Takeru." Crystal teased back at him with a small smile.

"Hopefully, he'll be on our side when we do." Sabo told them both, sending them back into a serious mood.

Crystal lunged at the men in front of her, kicking at their pressure points and sending them to the floor in pain. Luffy lashed out with his pistol, bazooka, and Gatling gun, sending them screaming in surprise and pain away from the battle. Sabo cloned himself and easily confused the men as he snuck up on them and hit them hard, punching them in the face, and knocking them in the back. Ace light fires on all the men, sending them screaming in fear as it consumed them. Shichiro rushed into the battle, fighting all four of them as he blocks and attacks effortlessly.

Crystal kicked her brother in the arm, sending him stumbling to the side. Sabo and Luffy punched at him, hitting him in the chest and flinging him back away from them, and finally Ace through a fire at him, sending him sprawling back and into a group of men.

A shout of pain was heard from across the grounds, making the four stare in wonder. They watched as Akito stole the darkness from Blackbeard, taking all his power and energy from him. Blackbeard dropped to the ground, lifeless, and with no power left at all. It swirled around Akito like a whirlwind, enveloping him with its raw power. He glared at Crystal hard as the darkness seeped into him and gave him more power than he should possibly have.

He walked towards Crystal, slaughtering his men with a sweep of his hand as they got in his way. Crystal stood her ground and looked at him in the eye, ready for anything to come from him. Ace gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go and giving her a small nod.

Akito smiled at her, sending chills down her spin at the feral look that was there, giving him the complete look of a predator looking at his prey. He laughed maniacally as his eyes focused on her…no past her…. She turned around quickly, grabbing her sword and swinging it around at the same moment she leveled herself.

She gasped looking at her opponent. "Takeru," She whispered, looking at her brother with wide eyes full of pain and hurt. "No,"

He stood there with red eyes, dazed, and void of light as he leveled his sword back at her. He let a small smirk on his face as he tightened his grip and lunged at her, ready to kill the very sister he wanted to so badly to protect.


	36. The End

**All rights to One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. OC's belong to me, and Mayumi belongs to chien16youkai.**

**Message me about the chapter!**

**Comment!**

**R&R**

* * *

Crystal dodged and jumped to the side, staring at her brother in disbelief as he continuously lunged at her. She heard the sound of metal crashing on metal, then realized she automatically brought her sword up to protect herself. She couldn't bear to hurt her brother; she wouldn't.

"Takeru, please, stop!" Crystal shouted desperately.

His sword shot forward, a nicked her shoulder; blood flowing down her arm warmly and hitting the ground with a patter. She blocked the next attack, feeling her brother's strength push on her sword, making her arms shake from the strain of holding against him.

"Takeru!" Sakura shouted, gripping her brothers arm and pulling against him.

He glared at her before flinging his arm and sending her sliding across the floor. Mamoru stopped her as he stared at Takeru incredulously.

"Nii-chan! Snap out of it!" Crystal shouted, her voice cracking.

He sword swung at her, making her duck and roll to the side, before bringing it up and stopping the sword as it swooped down at her. Her foot slipped, sending her falling onto her back. Takeru shouted out, and Crystal closed her eyes, ready for the finishing blow from her brother.

"Run," Takeru said gruffly.

Crystal opens her eyes and see's Takeru's eyes changing rapidly from red to blue and back to red. He was clenching his teeth to the point where it looks like they may crack.

"Takeru," She whispered, looking up at her brother, who was straddling her and straining his arms to stay still.

"You need to run," He growled out again.

He gasped as he gripped his head and his eyes flashed red at her threateningly again. He smirked evilly again as he looked at her, his hand reaching out and gripping the hilt of his sword with a fierce grip. He lifted it out of the ground and above his head, aiming the point of it down at her beneath him.

"Crystal!" Ace shouted, spotting her on the ground beneath the blade.

Teach knocks into him, sending him flying backwards before he could run after her. Crystal sucked in her breath and gritted her teeth, knowing there was only one thing she could do to help her brother at the moment and save her life. The only thing holding her back was that she was going to have to hurt him in the process by doing so.

She slams her hand into his chest, pushing the power that was building up in her gut, and sending it out into her hand. Darkness exploded out of him, gathering into a thick fog behind him, as if it was a being itself that was just expelled from inside of him.

Takeru screams as the explosion sends his body into an electrified state, and making him fall over next to her, and the sword to roll away. Crystal sat up quickly, just as the dark fog flew towards her and surrounded her dangerously.

Ryuuji flew out of her quickly, just as the fog flew towards her, ready to take her over as its new vessel and use her against her nakama. Ryuuji stays in his dragon form, as his jaw gapes open and he swallows the fog whole. Crystal grits her teeth as she feels Ryuuji's strength grow inside of her, threatening to overpower her with any slight weakness.

She gives her brother one last glance before standing up shakily. "Ryuuji, come."

"Can you handle it?" Ryuuji asks worriedly.

Crystal nodded her head, looking determinedly for her mother. She finally spotted her mother and smirked victoriously as she was standing alone with Akito's attention in other places. She raced forward without another thought towards her mother.

Akito spots Crystal nearing Rin, and gritted his teeth in anger. His thoughts became muddled as he began to rethink this victory he thought would come so easily. He shouts out and flies towards them quickly, arm locked back with a powerful explosion of darkness ready to hit her with its full force. Ryuuji saw him before Crystal did and put his arm up as he stepped in front of Crystal, taking the explosion from Akito and sending him flying to the side.

"Mom!" Crystal shouts, reaching her mother.

Rin raises her arms to try and touch Crystal; the only way she would be able to control her effectively. Crystal grabs her wrists before she can do anything. She looks her mother in the eyes hoping to pierce into her somehow.

"Please mom! Stop this! Can't you see you're hurting people! Your own family!" Crystal argued desperately, making her mother look at her and nowhere else.

Akito growls as he lunges at her again, but Ryuuji recovers himself and tackles Akito to the side, both of them rolling around and hitting each other in a scuffle. Both trying to get the upper hand. Ryuuji struggled against Akito as the power between them were both strong and nearly equal. But Ryuuji couldn't push it, knowing that Crystal was already fighting to keep him at bay as his power grew.

Her mother groans as she squeezes her eyes shut and grips her head in pain. "Crystal?"

"Yes! Yes it's me!" Crystal said, hope rising up inside of her. "Come back! Please, you have to stop this!"

"Enough!" Akito growls predatorily.

Power surged out of him in electrical waves, sending Ryuuji flying off of him, and hitting Crystal. They slid away from Rin in a heap on the floor.

"I will not let you take her away from me! You stupid, insolent child!" Akito shouted, his eyes flashing at her in anger and seething hate. "You will not win this war! And you will give me your power!"

"I will not!" Crystal shouted at him as she got out from under Ryuuji and glared at him.

"Crystal!" Sabo shouted as he and Lily raced towards her.

He cloned himself, jumping at Akito with a glare, his clones numbering him 50 to 1. Lily snapped her fingers and pushed her hand out, sending a powerful force towards Akito as she reached out with her mind.

Akito glared at them, leveling his glare on them from Crystal. He roared as he outstretched his arms and flung them back with another electrical wave. They got up quickly, but stopped as more men surrounded them and kept them at bay from Akito and Crystal.

Crystal stared in horror as she looked at the men closely, seeing that they were covered in bruises and mortal wounds. She looked around at all of them and covered her mouth. Every one of the men working for her mother and Akito were constantly being injured with wounds that would kill any normal person, but here the men just kept getting up and fighting again. She realized with a shock that her mother was controlling them like dolls as the darkness Akito was feeding them gave them strength and power.

Her side were slowly being pushed back towards the ships, leaving her defenseless and alone. She shakes her head, not wanting to believe that they are losing this fight because some men are becoming the walking dead.

"Mom!" She cries out. She looks desperately at her mom who was still struggling with herself.

She gets up and runs to her mother, grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her. Akito spots her and growls, racing towards Crystal angrily. He grabs her by the throat and squeezes, cutting her air supply off, and making water appear in her eyes from the burning pain suffocating her lungs.

"M..o…m…" She grumbles out, glancing at her mother.

Rin looks up and stares at Akito holding her daughter in the air by her throat, making her snap out of it momentarily and stare in shock.

"What are you doing?" She screams at him, glaring at him quickly.

She thrusts her hand out and shoots an explosion inside of his head, making him scream out in pain and drop Crystal. She lands on the ground like a rock being taken over by gravity, gasping for the desperate air that her lungs need.

She looks up and stares in fear as she spots Teach grabbing Whitebeard by his arm and slamming his fist into his chest. An explosion erupted inside of Whitebeard from the darkness enveloping him from Blackbeard's fist. Whitebeard coughed, as blood spurted out of his mouth.

"Daddy!" She screams, reaching out her hand towards him.

"Saki!" Rin shouted, sending her dragon towards Whitebeard and flinging Teach back away from him with a powerful gust of wind.

"Mom," Crystal said thankfully, getting to her feet.

"Crystal, quickly, save your friends. Save your brothers." She began to struggle with herself as Akito grabbed her arm and bruised her skin from his tight grip.

"You will stay as you are." Akito commanded her, darkness seeping into her skin.

Her mom looked up dazedly as her eyes melted back to the red they were before. Crystal held back a whimper as Akito leveled his gaze on her once again, fear freezing her blood and hardening her bones in place.

"I've had enough of you trying to ruin my plans." Akito growled at her, walking in front of her and lifting her up by her wrist. "You will give me that power."

"I can't," She whimpered out, limbs shaking. She grits her teeth and slams her hand over his chest, exploding the darkness out of him.

He growls angrily and throws her aside, sending her flying off the platform, landing on the ground painfully. She groans as she felt a couple of her ribs crack from the impact. She glanced up and saw Akito looking down at her with a fearsome glare, calling the darkness back into him.

"It's impossible," She whispered scared. "He's been completely consumed by the darkness."

Akito looked over from her. "Shichiro, kill her."

Shichiro stopped from joining the others in fighting, and looked at Akito in shock. "You said we wouldn't kill her! That we would just take her power and leave her alone!"

"Taking her power would kill her!" Akito yelled at him. "She was going to die anyway!"

"I won't kill her!" Shichiro shouted at his father, looking helplessly at Crystal. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

"Then I'll kill her myself!" Akito shouted.

Crystal rolled to the side, dodging as he jumped down to her. She stood up quickly and punched him across the jaw, making him grab her wrist and twist it behind her.

"What do you think would hurt you more?" Akito said laughing behind her. "Killing you, or making you watch again as I kill your whole family?"

Crystal tensed as she looked helplessly at Shichiro, begging him to help her with her eyes. Akito grabbed her chin painfully and made her look at her family that is slowly being defeated, tired, and pushed back towards the ship.

"Say good bye to your new family." Akito growled, gripping her tightly.

He raised his arm up and pointed it at the front lines of the battle, where Ace, Luffy, Marco, Thatch, Sabo, Whitebeard, Sakura, and Mamoru were. She desperately gripped at Akito, trying to move his arm away from the intended target. Akito formed a ball of darkness in his hand, waiting as it grew and built in power, hitting Crystal with its raw strength and making her heart beat like a hummingbirds wings in fear.

"Daddy! Ace!" Crystal screamed quickly, looking at them, hoping they would hear her and run. "RUN! NIGETE!"

They heard her and looked over just as Akito let the dark ball out of his hand, shooting it across the clearing towards them. It grew ten times its size, at least double the size of Whitebeard. Crystal stared in horror as the ball shot across and consumed its own side as it headed towards the front lines. Men screamed and yelled as their bodies were consumed completely from the darkness, their skin, muscles, and bones melting and disappearing completely.

"YAMETE!" Crystal screamed as the ball soared closer towards her family.

Akito stared down at her as her power built inside of her, swirling around her dangerously. His eyes widened in surprise as red raw power swirled around her and she gritted her teeth in anger. She suddenly disappeared out of his hold making him take a step forward and look down at where she was a second ago.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL THEM!" Crystal screamed, appearing before everyone on the front line.

She looked up determinedly at the ball flying towards her. She lifts her hands and grits her teeth in pain as the ball slams into her barrier she created in front of her. The ball continued to roll, pushing against her with its full force. She pushed desperately on the balls of her feet, but the force was too strong, it began to push her and make her feet slid on the ground, causing trails of trenches where her feet were digging in.

Akito and Shichiro watched in horror and shock as Crystal pushed against the ball, keeping it from hitting her family and nakama behind her. The pirates and Marines stared in surprise as the ball started to slow down.

"Crystal!" Sakura cried out.

"Nee-chan!" Mamoru said helplessly.

Spurts of darkness whipped out of the ball and past her barrier, hitting her and cutting her all around her body. It hit her arm, thigh, and stomach, sending her body into panic. She gasped as another shot hit her in her hip, her legs trying to buckle underneath the pain.

"Crystal!" Whitebeard said, trying to step forward towards her.

"No…" She ground out. "Stay back!"

She looked back at the others and let out her breath, before taking another deep one. She looked up determinedly.

"Ryuuji," She said calmly, feeling his power grow inside of her. "Chii, Momo,"

She waited, feeling the two dragons surround her with their power, before seeping into her body and increasing the power inside of her. She smiled and pushed that power out of her and into her hands, making the ball in front of her stop rolling, then roll the opposite way.

"Dai, Chairo, Haru." She added, knowing how much her body was screaming in pain from the power.

The power surged inside of her, making her yell out in pain, before concentrating that pain and making it surge in her hands. The ball exploded out from her barrier and flung back towards Akito, ready to consume him just as it consumed his allies.

Akito stared wide eyed at the ball racing towards him. He lifted his arm and hit the ball to the side, as if it was a fly coming towards his face annoyingly. It hit the ocean, making that section exploded and keep the water straight into the air.

"Cheeky little brat," Akito gritted out. "Shichiro, you fight her or you'll be the one to die."

Shichiro flinched at the threat in his voice, making him gulp and look at Crystal helplessly. He lunged forward and aimed his fist at Crystal. She flinched, but felt someone reach around her and grab the fist, flinging him away from her.

"Don't you dare touch her." Ace growled behind her. He looked down at her worriedly.

She looked back at her nakama behind her and saw all of them put their weapons and fists back up, ready to fight off anything else to come. She felt the need to cry as she saw all the wounds, bruises, and cuts on them, but still they were willing to fight alongside her.

"Can you fight off the rest of the men?" She asked them carefully.

Marco walked up and nodded, patting her on the shoulder, "Let's finish this."

Crystal breathed in and looked at the other dragon users behind her. "I know this is risky, but you have to let me use your dragons. Okay?"

"Knock 'em dead." Sakura said with a smile.

"Don't push yourself." Ace told her worriedly.

She gave him a small smile and kissed his hand that rested on her shoulder lightly. "I'll try."

She disappeared from all of them again and appeared in front of Akito. She pushed her hand up and smashed her palm into his nose, breaking it and sending him backwards a couple of steps.

"You bitch!" He shouted angrily, holding his nose as blood spilled out.

"Shut up," She growled at him, making him jump. She walked towards him with her hands balled into fists. "I'm not the same little girl I was years ago. I won't let you take them away from me."

"Ha! You think someone like you can defeat me?" Akito scoffed at her.

"Not alone I can't. But with everyone's help I know I can." Crystal told him.

She disappeared again, making Akito look around helplessly, and prepare for an attack from her. When nothing came he tensed and quickly looked behind him.

"No!" He shouted.

Crystal had reappeared in front of her mother and grabbed her arm. She placed her hand over her chest, letting the power explode from her hand and shoot the darkness out of her forcefully. She screamed out in pain before collapsing backwards.

"I got you." She said quietly.

She caught her mother protectively and laid her on the floor gently, brushing the hair out of her face. She looked up and glared at Akito, seeing him shoot forward angrily towards them.

"You will no longer control her." Crystal growled at him.

She stood up and glared at Akito, calling out the dragons and making them stand next to her in their silhouette forms. The stood around her protectively, glaring at Akito with their colored eyes. Rin groaned on the ground, before sitting up and rubbing her head in pain.

"Crystal?" She said, looking at her daughter sadly. "I'm so sorry."

Crystal shook her head, keeping her eyes on Akito and glancing at her mother as she stood up and stood next to her.

"I can't believe you controlled me like that and used me to hurt other people!" Her mother shouted angrily at him.

"You would have left if I didn't!" He shouted desperately at her.

Her mother opened her mouth again, ready to argue more, but Crystal held up her arm and stopped her mother from saying anything more.

"Right now isn't the time to argue." Crystal said. "Can you take care of him?"

Rin looked at Crystal hard, before nodding her head and glaring at Akito. "This will be payback for all these years."

"Don't let him gain control again." Crystal warned her.

Rin nodded once more, squeezing Crystal's hand affectionately before letting go. Crystal smiled and disappeared, reappearing in front of her brother Shichiro, blocking an attack he was aiming at Ace.

"You got him?" Ace shouted over the yells on the battlefield.

"Yeah!" She shouted back, nodding her head and piercing her gaze into her brother. "Why do you continue to fight for him?"

"Because I'll be killed if I don't." He growled back. "And unlike you I want to live."

Crystal narrowed her eyes, pushing her brother back. "You think I don't want to live?"

She rushed him, hitting him in the jaw, then straightening her leg out and kicking him up into the jaw painfully.

"I'm fighting so I can make sure I'll live! So I can live happily and safely with the people around me!" She shouted at him.

He caught himself and lunged at her, punching towards her face. She crossed her arms and blocked the hit, wrapping her leg around his and tripping him. He crashed to the floor roughly, and looked up at her confused.

"I want this to be over, so Akito can no longer threaten us! SO we can live our lives like we want to!" Crystal shouted at him.

She slammed her heel down towards him, making him roll to the side and do a handstand, before launching off the ground and landing a few feet away from her.

"We can never live a normal life! There will always be people out there coming after us!" He argued back, hurt flashing in his eyes.

"I know that! I lived with that when I thought you all were dead! I lived through that constantly, and alone!" She screamed at him, making him start and look at her. "You decide how your life will be. Show and prove to everyone else you're not how they think you are!"

Shichiro stood up straight and looked around at her family that was here fighting for her, helping to end this just as she wished. He glanced at the Marine's who joined up with her.

"Why," He said confused.

"Because they want to decide their own futures." Crystal told him, relaxing her stance and gazing at him with sadness. "No one wants to live in fear. No one wants to be used."

Crystal gasped as pain ripped through her, sending her to her knees in pain. She gripped her chest and felt her heart struggling to keep up with the great amount of power coming out of the dragons inside of her.

"Oi!" Shichiro said, kneeling down by his sister.

"See? You're still my nii-chan." She said with a small laugh.

He looked at her surprised before glaring at her and standing back up. "no I'm not! You always had everything you wanted. Our parents always wanted you. I was never seen when it came to others."

He thrust his hand out, thick vines coming out of the ground and wrapping around Crystal's body, sending her into the air and holding her there.

"I'm doing this for myself!" He shouted at her.

She looked at him helplessly as laughter erupted behind her. She looked and found her mother lying on the ground near Whitebeard as they all stared at Akito in horror.

"You think your mother could have stopped me?" Akito shouted incredulously. "I was the one to give her power!" He looked at Shichiro proudly, as he walked over and examined his son's work as if it was a master piece in an art show. "Good work, son."

Shichiro clenched his teeth, fighting internally with himself as Crystal's words processed in his mind. He looked at Crystal and saw her struggling to stay conscious, he could see how much she was risking in this fight; including her life.

"Why do you fight so hard?" Shichiro asks her.

"Because," She says, breathing heavily as her body felt like it was being ripped apart. "I want to live with the people I love. I don't want to feel like they can be taken from me. I want to live my life with them."

Shichiro froze, seeing her eyes gaze back up at him. He turned and saw Sakura, Mamoru, and Rin gazing at him in pity as they saw how much Akito was using him.

"He's using you Shichiro. He'll throw you away after he has me." She told him sadly.

"No! He won't!" Shichiro said.

Akito began to laugh even more as he clapped his hands for Crystal. "Good job. You found out my plan huh?"

"Yeah," She said. "You want to use all our powers, and bring them into you. Like darkness consuming everything around it."

"Bravo," Akito said with a vicious smile. "Too bad that won't save you."

Akito lunged towards Crystal where she was being held immobile. Shichiro yelled and sent the vines to let her go and instead hit Akito with it's full force. They wrapped around him and soon consumed him till he was no longer in sight.

"Shichiro!" Crystal shouted out worriedly.

She stood up and ran to her brother, tackling him down as Akito exploded the vines out and glared at his son in fury.

"So you're on her side now too!" Akito growled, pointing an accusing finger at Shichiro. "You will all die!"

Crystal stood up with Shichiro, facing Akito down with their glares. The others stood protectively behind her, keeping their gazes on him also. His smile soon was replaced with a fearful frown as he backed away from them and shook his head.

"You won't defeat me!" Akito shouted at them defensively.

He looked all around, looking for something that could help him win. He snapped his fingers, making the men that were on the ground defeated, stand back up and fight again. They charged all of them, sending the battle into a last minute frenzy.

Crystal and Shichiro ran into the battle, hitting anything that came close to them. Crystal effortlessly dodge the attacks by jumping and flipping over them, as Shichiro finished them off by making the vines capture them and hold them were they were.

Crystal landed closer to her nakama, cringing as pain flared through her again. Shichiro looked at her worriedly as he held out his hand. She looked at it confused, by relaxed as he smiled at her.

"Take mine." He told her.

She smiled at him, nodding. "Midori," She said calmly, feeling his dragon wind around his arm and into her. She looked back at her mother and sighed. "Saki,"

Her body was screaming as it was taking it's limit on the power. She composed herself determined not to show how much pain she was in. But she knew she wouldn't last a couple more minutes. She hated to go back on her promise, but she wasn't going to let Akito win.

She clapped her hands, and opened them up above her head, gathering each of the dragons special powers above her into a giant swirling mass. Akito looked at her in horror as the ball grew and threatened to attack him at any moment.

Crystal gritted her teeth and took a step forward, throwing the ball and releasing the pent up energy along with it. The ball soared towards him, rolling inside with power so great it could destroy the whole world.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Akito shouted, putting his hands up to stop it.

It crashed into him, exploding on impact and causing debris and dust to fly into the air, blocking out any sight in front of them.

Cheers erupted behind her as the other men collapsed back onto the ground, no longer being controlled by the darkness that was inside of them. Crystal turned around and smiled at all of them victoriously, waving her hand in the air towards her family.

"We did it!" Mamoru shouted happily.

Crystal stared at her family, glancing at her siblings one by one and then to her mother. That was when she noticed that Takeru wasn't fight with them, that he may have still been on the floor from her expelling the darkness out of him. She looked around the battle ground, before looking back at her family, that were congratulating each other.

The darkness was flying out of the bodies, joining together in the air before zooming behind her. She froze realizing everyone else was too preoccupied with celebrating to realize what was going on.

Laughter erupted behind her once again, sending chills through everyone.

"Kill her," A dark sinister voice growled out.

Crystal turned, to see Akito forming once again into his body, the darkness that the others were controlled by, now forming to create his body. Her breath hitched inside her throat as she stared in disbelief at what was happening.

She turned and stared at her family in fear, knowing that that was their last chance in winning this. Shichiro screamed her name out, as Ace and Marco stared wide eyed and took a step forward.

Crystal turned around and froze, feeling the blood flow out from around her chest and down her front, before soaking the floor below her.

"Ta…ke…ru…" She said quietly.

Takeru stood there with shaking hands as he looked at the sword he had plunged through her chest. His eyes faded back into their blue as he stared in disbelief at what he had done. He pulled the sword out of her, let it fall out of his hand, and clatter to the floor. She placed her hand over her chest, looking up at him in shock as it processed in her mind what just happened.

"Crystal!" She heard her father shout out over everyone.

She turned to look at him. "Da…ddy." She said painfully.

The dragons swirled around her before expelling and disappearing, as if dying from inside of her. Blood trickled from her mouth and down her chin, as the pain finally flared from in her chest and out into the rest of her body.

Ace raced forward as Crystal smiled at him, feeling oddly at peace as her vision slowly faded and turned to darkness. She fell forward and felt strong arms wrap around her.

"No! You can't die!" Ace shouted at her, making her open her eyes and try to focus.

She felt water patter on her cheeks, as everyone surrounded her in shock. She reached up and cupped his face, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

She smiled at him, hoping to make him feel better. "I'm sorry. I can't finish this." She told him sadly. She coughed and more blood sputtered out of her. "Maybe it'll be safer now that I'm gone."

"Don't say that!" Ace shouted, brushing the blood from her mouth, and pushing her hair away from her face. "You have to stay with me."

"I'm sorry," She whispered, feeling her heart slow down.

Her breath escaped her as her vision turned black once again. She felt herself be carried away as she no longer could feel everyone around her or hear them. She was glad she had the time she did with Ace. She just hoped he would find someone else. She just wish she didn't die before defeating Akito.


	37. Goodbye?

**All rights to One Piece goes to Eichiro Oda! OC's belong to me!**

**Sorry Mina! I know I took awhile, but I became discouraged after someone posted a comment that they hated the story, only once they reached chapter 37. It mad me sad and not want to write any longer. I know my story can be very mary sue-ish at times, but I did not make Crystal without her flaws, or anyone else for the matter. I created Crystal with how I, note 'I', wanted her to be like, not anyone else. I will not change my character just because someone wants to complain after reading the whole story.**

**If you do not like my story, please do not read. This is for people who like to read these kind of stories. I could care less if you don't like it, but I like to hear from those that do enjoy my story.**

**Another point, don't post on the comments with a long paragraph that you don't like the story, that is plain rude and disrespectful, and you can make a person not want to write from saying those kind of things. I'm sure there are other stories out there for you to read, so don't hate on mine when you can read those.**

**The only reason why I continued to write was because there were others who wanted me to continue. Along with valancia who was nice enough to prove to those who thought it was all mary sue, that it truly wasn't.**

**Do not misunderstand, I love to hear from people about what they think about it, but if you're just going to hate, disrespect, and dis my story, do not read, do not comment, and definitely do not do so to other stories.**

**R&R**

* * *

Crystal could feel the emptiness fill around her; surround her in its cold void. She felt like she was drifting in a sea of emptiness, with nothing and no one around her. She tried to move her finger, but could hardly blink with how heavy she felt.

_So this is what it's like to die…_ She thought to herself, closing her eyes peacefully.

"Wake up!" Ace shouted, shaking Crystal's limp body in his arms.

"Ace," Marco said, laying his hand on Ace's shoulder.

Tears fell on her cheeks as Ace looked down at her sadly, hugging her close to his body as he began to rock slowly. Her blood seeped over his chest and down onto the ground.

"Onee-chan…" Mamoru hiccupped as he stared at his sister sadly.

"No," Sakura said shaking her head defiantly.

"I win!" Akito laughed manically. He stared down at them with raw, evil victory plain on his face. "I knew she would never defeat me!"

"My baby," Rin said, crawling over to Crystal as Ace lay her down onto the floor.

Rin brushed Crystal's hair out of her face, and wept over her daughter who risked her life for them. She lay her head down on Crystal's stomach, letting her tears run with her daughter's blood to the ground.

"You will pay for this." Whitebeard said, tears running down his face.

Pirate and Marine's alike looked up at Akito with raw hate, more determined now than ever to defeat him.

"We may not have liked or agreed with Crystal, but that doesn't mean you could have killed her in such a horrible way." Smoker growled at them.

"I thought Marine's hated pirates!" Akito scoffed at them.

"We do," Kizaru hummed. "But she was willing to help us with our goal."

"So you were using her?" Akito raised an eyebrow.

"In a way yes." Aokiji nodded. "But she was willing to be used."

"Oh, well." Akito shrugged, looking down at them with a smirk. "It's just one less pirate on the seas."

"Usually we would agree." Garp said, taking a step forward.

"But now you don't?" Akito laughed.

"No, I don't!" Garp shouted glaring at him. "She was my granddaughter!"

"You're granddaughter! HA!" He scoffed, glaring at Garp. "She was my daughter! And she belonged to me! She was supposed to be my ultimate weapon!"

"Shut up," Ace growled, standing up.

"What?" Akito asked, turning his glare on Ace.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Ace shouted, glaring back at Akito with tears still running down his face. "She belonged to no one! She used her power for good! And you couldn't handle that!"

"Annoyed little bastard." Akito cursed.

Akito snapped his fingers, sending slashes of darkness towards Ace. Marco tackled Ace to the floor in time for the slashes to miss and hit the ground behind them.

"Are you an idiot? Crystal didn't die for you to die right after her!" Marco yelled, punching Ace in the jaw.

"Ace, I know it's hard on you right now. But we have to finish this." Thatch said softly, trying to get Ace to focus. "For Crystal."

Ace looked at everyone as they stood there watching Akito. He rubbed his jaw and stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes, and clenched his fists as he stared at Akito with pure hatred.

"You aren't winning this." Ace told Akito fiercely.

"Oh? And why's that?" Akito asked teasingly, as if they were all children who didn't know better.

"Can't you see?" Takeru asked, standing up. He pulled his arms out to either side of him, indicating to everyone behind him. "Crystal has brought everyone together. She has changed all of us some how. Whether we will like her or not afterwards, that doesn't matter right now. Because right now, she brought us all here so we can defeat you."

"You won't be able to defeat my army!" Akito growled.

"What army? You took them out to get to Crystal's family, remember?" Shichiro growled back.

Akito looked at everyone, seeing no one that was on his side before. He looked at his own family who were now glaring at him as if he was someone they no longer cared about. His pride and victory decreased quickly as fear pricked inside of him, seeing that though he took down Crystal, there were now hundreds more to take care of that wanted revenge for what he did to her.

"Y-You don't scare me!" He faltered, pointing his finger at them.

Ace threw a giant wave of fire at Akito, tired of his accusations that were soon faltering. Akito flew into the air quickly, using the darkness to deflect gravity around him and keep him there, looking down at everyone.

"We're ending this!" Whitebeard growled.

Chopper picked Crystal up and away from the group and towards the ships, the only place he could think that would keep her body from any more harm. He gave her one last look before biting a rumble ball and quickly changing into his monster form that roared in anger at Akito.

Whitebeard slammed his fist into the air, sending a powerful quake at Akito and sending him flying. Chopper acted quickly and slammed a hand into Akito, sending him into a wall painfully. The attacks sent the crowd into a rage as they charged towards Akito, ready to attack him with whatever they had left in them.

Akito growled and slammed his fists into the wall behind him, making the darkness seep out from the cracks and absorb into his body. He growled as he hunched over. His body began to grow as his muscles bulged out and enlarged, his whole body becoming muscular as he glared at all of them, eyes flashing a deadly red.

"What the…" Sabo shouted, grabbing a sword on the ground and stopping.

"He's becoming desperate!" Rin shouted to everyone. "Keep attacking! He's using his last resort!"

His skin turned to black as it made him turn into a shadow with red eyes. Webbed wings with spikes at the end, exploded from his back, flapping desperately against his weight and lifting him into the air.

"A demon!" A Marine shouted in fear.

"It's real! He's truly a demon!" Colby shook in fear, staring up with wide eyes at Akito.

He laughed evilly, his voice more gruff, possessed, and bone chilling than it was before. "Witness my true power! Fear it! Because you will die by it!"

He shot forward, dagger claws flashing in the sunlight as he reared his arm back. He slashed his hand through the air, sending dark slashes at them. Whitebeard hit the air, and deflected it away from all of them, but couldn't dodge in time as Akito sank his claws into his chest.

Whitebeard groaned in pain as blood slipped out of the corner of his mouth. He grabbed Akito's arm and flung him away, but Akito flapped his wings and hovered in the air, licking his claws as if it were covered in frosting.

"I love the taste of blood." Akito hummed in delight. "I wonder if all of yours taste different?"

He flashed his fangs at them, sending a cold chill through all of them, making them froze in place. Ace clenched his fists and set a blazing circle of fire around everyone, snapping them all out of their trance and fear.

"You think that will stop me?" Akito smirked.

He slashed his nails through the air, making the fire diminish quickly as darkness consumed it. He continued as he wiggled his fingers, sending the darkness into some of the nearby people.

"How about a little fun?" Akito laughed.

He moved his fingers as if they were connected to strings, making the pirates and marines the darkness captured, turn and face their own side with their weapons.

"What are you doing?" Garp yelled at them.

"I can't stop," One of them ground out, his fingers gripping the handle of his gun till his knuckles were white.

Each one that the darkness captured, had a gun full of seastone bullets. They pulled them up and aimed them at the others, sending their eyes wide in desperateness. They pulled the trigger simultaneously as the bullets flew through the air.

Ace groaned as a bullet lodged into his shoulder, sending him backwards and into Thatch. Thatch narrowed his eyes at the wound and delved into it, ignoring Ace's cries of pain. He grabbed the bullet quickly and tossed it aside, watching as the wound healed slowly. It would take awhile for that wound to heal, but it was at least healing.

"What out." Thatch whispered to him.

Ace nodded his head and stood up, flicking the blood from his hand. He shouted as he raced towards Akito, his fist and arm covered in flames. Marco flew through the air, changing into his phoenix form, grabbing onto Ace's shoulders.

"Leave these guys to us!" Thatch told them reassuringly.

Ace directed his attention to Akito and lifted his arm covered in flames, feeling Marco's flames join his for the attack. Orange and blue flames licked around one another as Ace shot out his arm, sending the fir towards Akito dangerously, both flames swirling around one another as if in a dance.

Akito broke his concentration from his marionettes and dropped one hand, blocking the flames in his hand. Half of the marionettes dropped exhausted, as if Akito took their energy as he had them in his power. Akito smirked as he lifted the flames in his hand and brought it to his mouth, swallowing it.

"Thanks for the meal." He growled with a smile.

He opened his mouth and shouted, the same flames rushing out of his mouth and towards the two. Marco veered quickly, barely dodging the flames as they circled Akito. Ace dropped out of Marco's reach and landed on Akito's back, feeling instant exhaustion when he made contact.

"Feeling tired boy?" Akito teased. "Careful, people just can't seem to keep their energy around me!" He joked, laughing and sending dark waves away from him.

Ace felt his world tilt as he slipped off of Akito, desperately grabbing his ankle to hang onto. Akito looked down at him curiously, then a smirk appeared on his face as he gazed down at Ace with fascination.

"You have power." Akito said, reaching down and grabbing Ace by the throat.

The rest of the marionettes dropped as Akito used all his attention on Ace, sucking the energy out of him. Ace clenched his teeth, seeing black spots enter his vision. He slammed his fist into Akito's chest, sending an eruption of fire into Akito's body.

Akito screamed out and threw Ace away, making him hit the ground and create a crater. Akito glared down at Ace and lifted his hand, shooting out orbs of darkness that exploded around him. Ace yelled out in pain as he skidded across the ground, unable to gather any more energy.

_Are you giving up already?_

Crystal snapped her eyes open, looking into the emptiness with shock. Ryuuji stood there in his human form, gazing down at her with hurt and guilt.

_Are you giving up?_ He asked her again.

_I can't fight any longer._ She told him with a whine. _I can't even move my finger._

_It's because you are not trying._ Ryuuji told her gently.

_I have tried!_ She argued, glaring at him with hurt._ You think I would leave my family out there alone on purpose?_

_You have not used every option._ Ryuuji told her cryptically.

_What other option do I have? I am already dead._ She told him with a sigh.

_No, you still have us._ Ryuuji told her sternly.

Crystal felt her muscles relax and strength. She opened her eyes and sat up, feeling the water around her run off gently and leave her dry.

_You have us._ Multiple voices said gently at the same time.

Crystal looked around and saw all the dragons in their silhouettes standing in a circle around her. One by one they changed into their human form and gazed down at her with worry and determination.

_Can you count on us?_ Aoi, Takeru's dragon, asked gently.

Crystal looked at them carefully, feeling their strength leave them and seep into her. She got up shakily and stood on the water just as the dragons were.

_What if I don't win this?_ She asked them skeptically. _ What if I can't control all of your powers?_

_You will. You are Hikari No Tenshi._ Ryuuji told her. _You have always been Hikari No Tenshi. It was just whether you wanted to release that power or not._

_What do you want to do? _Momo asked quickly.

Crystal closed her eyes and breathed, giving a smile as one by one her family flashed through her eyes, her crew, her friends, and the last being Ace.

_I want to protect everyone._ She told them warmly. _I don't want anyone else to be hurt by Akito._

_That is the answer we wanted to hear. _They all said at the same time. _Call us._

_Ryuuji… _ Crystal began, feeling his energy and power envelope her in its warmth. _Momo. Chii. Haru. Saki. Aoi. Midori._

She could feel their power taking over her…no they were filling her. They were giving her their power and strength, giving her all they had to make her the most powerful she could be. It didn't hurt either, it was if It were a soft blanket wrapping around her in an odd sense of protection.

_Dai. Chairo. _ She called the final two feeling her body react automatically to the full power she had.

_It seems you have finally awakened me._

Crystal pivoted around and stared at the dragon before her. It shone in the light and was so warm it was as if it was the sun. The white dragon standing before her was greater than anything she had ever seen before.

_Shiro._ She wasn't sure how she already knew his name. It was as if it reverberated through her body and called into her heart.

He smiled and a white flash enveloped the empty space around her, blinding her and making her close her eyes.

Shouts were heard all around as she felt her wound close itself up, her muscles grow stronger, and her body flow with the power of all the dragons inside of her. She sat up and opened her eyes, looking over the battle field with wide eyes.

Her family, friends, Marines, and everyone else were fighting still, though they were all too tired to fight much more. She looked and saw Ace struggling to stay up, his limbs shaking in exhaustion as he desperately tried to help his comrades.

She stood up, feeling the power swirl around her. Her hair fell out of its ribbon, the wind automatically tying it to her wrist for her. Power swirled around her and slowly went upwards, making her boots, clothes, and accessories disappear as she walked towards the group. In their place stood the light blue summer dress that flowed around her thighs, and tied around her neck.

Her necklace shone brightly as she could feel warmth envelope her and gather into her back, between her shoulder blades. She continued to gently walk forward, her eyes on Akito, waiting for him to spot her and give her the satisfaction of seeing fear on his face.

She heard a gasp, and trailed her eyes down to Sakura and Lily who stood there watching with wide eyes as if they were watching a ghost. She gave them a smile and trailed her eyes back up to Akito.

"Crystal!" Sakura cried out with joy, tears falling down her cheeks.

Everyone turned around quickly, gaping as Crystal continued to walk. The crowd parted as she walked by, watching in amazement as her dress and hair swirled from the non-existent wind, and her feet floated on the ground rather than touched the ground as she walked.

"Crystal," Ace whispered, reaching out towards her.

"THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Akito shouted as he spotted Crystal standing in front of the whole group.

He threw his power forcefully at her, ready to devour the whole group along with her, but his fear was taking over and enveloping the darkness, making it falter a second. The ball exploded, making debris fill the air around them, and giving hope inside his body.

Crystal felt the warmth grow and burst out of her back. Akito's fear rose as his hope dropped out of him. Crystal stood there in front of everyone with pure white wings spread out on either side of her, coming out form her shoulder blades.

"No! No! NOO!" He screamed out, grabbing his head.

"Crystal," Ace whispered again, finding the strength to walk towards her.

Crystal turned, facing Ace with gentle eyes as she gave him a small smile. He pull her close and held her to his body in a death grip.

"Gomene." She whispered into her shoulder, placing her arms under his arms and on his back.

She pulled back and gave him a quick kiss, giving him some energy. She stepped out of his arms and looked at everyone.

"Mina, arigatou." She told them with a smile. "But this will be the end."

They looked at her as if she just said the world was ending right then.

"What do you…" Rin asked.

"I have to end this." Crystal interrupted her. "Please, stay out of the way and stay safe."

Ace reeled back as if she was betraying him. Her words stung as they hit everyone with force.

"You can't possibly mean you're doing this alone?" Sabo shouted at her in anger.

He tried to take a step and grab her, but her wings outstretched, sending him a step backwards from the force of the wind.

"I can't let you get hurt anymore than you already are." She told them sadly.

She turned her back on them and took a step forward, feeling the wind rise underneath her, ready to pull her up into the sky.

"Crystal! Wait!" Takeru shouted, trying to reach his sister.

Crystal ignored him as her wings flapped powerfully, shooting her into the air like a bullet, and towards Akito quickly. He held up his hands, putting up a dark barrier between him and her. Crystal narrowed her eyes and waved her hand, sending the barrier away quickly. She slammed her foot into the side of his hand, making him spin wildly and fall towards the ground, before he caught himself and glared at her.

"Why won't you just die?" He shouted at her.

"I won't die until I know you're gone." She told him stubbornly. "Until I know those around me are safe and out of your reach."

He threw slashes of darkness at her, making her fly higher into the air to dodge. She folded her wings in and her arms to her side, sliding through the air like a missile towards Akito. She landed her head into his stomach, making him cough out as the impact crushed some of his organs. She gripped him in her arms and sent Shiro's power through her arms.

Akito screamed out and yanked away from her, watching as parts of him where she was gripping, were now gone and diminishing.

"What did you do to me?" He shouted, glaring at her threateningly.

"What? Afraid to die?" She asked with narrowed eyes. "Maybe you'll get the same treatment you gave to all the other people you killed for your own gain.

His eyebrow twitched as a nervous and fearful tick over took his face as he watched her like an angel sent down to fight him. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, flying towards her quickly. Crystal matched his speed as they clashed against one another repeatedly around the sky.

To the others on the ground they were just flashes in the sky as they clashed. Their speed was too great for the human eye to see. They watched in amazement at the sudden power she had over Akito, giving hope bloom in all their hearts.

"Enough of this!" Akito shouted, pulling his hand back as darkness surrounded it and swirled dangerously around his arm.

Crystal disappeared as he lunged his arm forward, ready to hit her. She appeared higher in the air as she gazed down at him.

"Why is it you want to destroy everything so bad?" Crystal asked him angrily.

"I want the power!"He shouts at her.

"Is it worth it?" She asked gently. "To hurt your own family? To hurt mom? To hurt others?"

He stopped, freezing in mid-air as he looked at her. He looked down and gazed at Rin and his children, before an evil smile crossed his face. "Yes! It's very much worth it!"

He laughed maniacally sending chills down Crystal's spine. She could see it now; he was never her father, just someone who wanted more power. He was always taken over by darkness; his heart was always filled and consumed by the darkness within.

Crystal let a shadow cross over her face, despair hitting her hard. She had hoped to help him, but now she saw he was beyond hope. The only way to stop this now, was to destroy him once and for all. Crystal looked up at him, and quickly beat her wings against the wind, soaring her towards him. He reached his arms up to attack, but she flashed past them and grabbed his arm. He pressed her hand against his chest as she gripped his arm tightly. Her legs pulled up under her, and her back curved over to look down at him in the eye.

"This is over Akito." She told him softly. "You will no longer hurt anyone else."

His eyes widened before she plunged her hand into his chest and grabbed his heart, wrapping it in her palm and sending light into it, changing it from the inside out. The darkness diminished and retreated from his body, trying to keep his heart full of the darkness it needed to live. Soon there was none left.

Crystal softened her eyes and wrapped her arm around Akito's neck, knowing he was going to try to get away. She sent more light into him, filling his heart up with it instead, and feeling it become larger as it tried to fight off the power she was sending it. She pulled her hand out as his heart burst inside of him, disappearing from within him as if he never had one to begin with.

"I won't forget this." He grunted out, arms dropping and body going limp.

"No, the world won't forget the horrors you've done to it." She told him sternly.

She let him go and flew backwards, watching as he dropped to the sea below and disappeared beneath the water's depths. His body dropped until it hit the bottom of the sea, where it would rot and be forgotten over time.

She looked back towards the others and smiled victoriously at them. She flew towards them quickly, wrapping Ace in a hug as she dropped to the ground gracefully.

"We did it!" She said happily into his shoulder.

"You did it," Whitebeard said with a smile.

Crystal laughed as the others smiled and cheered with one another. Crystal gasped as a shooting pain ripped through her. Ace looked down at her worriedly as she gripped at his shoulders desperately.

She let out an airy laugh as she pulled back and smiled at them. "Ne, Marco. You have to take care of my sister ok?"

Marco looked at her confused at the sudden command. "Of course I will."

"Takeru," She said, turning to face him. "Don't blame yourself okay? None of you blame yourselves."

She looked at all of them as they turned silent and looked at her confused and worriedly.

"Never blame yourselves. Live life to the best as you can. And always smile." She repeated, remembering the words her brother used to tell her.

"What are you saying?" Ace asked, stepping forward.

Crystal went into his arm and cupped his face, giving him a loving kiss as she pulled him close. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, realizing too late the desperateness in the kiss.

She pulled out of his arms and smiled. "Gomene. I can't keep our promise." She ran her thumb along his cheek. "Never forget that I love you okay?"

"Crystal!" Takeru said desperately, noticing before anyone else what was going on.

Crystal stepped back, facing everyone with a smile. Her wings were slowly disappearing as the feather flew in the air around everyone, touching everyone and healing their wounds for the most part. As her wings disappeared, she began to slowly diminish.

"It seems I've used all my power." She said with a smile.

Her smile faltered as she looked at everyone. "I really am glad all of you took me in. I was glad that I got to live my life with all of you." Tears ran down her cheeks as she couldn't hold it back anymore. She bite her lip and clenched her hands on her dress, trying to pull it back. "I'm going to miss all of you."

She looked up and gave one last smile as her body turned translucent in front of all of them. She stepped back and shook her head as Ace desperately tried to reach out of her, his heart breaking that he was losing her again and again couldn't do a thing.

"You can't leave me." He said desperately, voice cracking from the pain.

"I'm sorry." She said, sobbing. "I love you." She said looking up at him lovingly. "Never forget that."

Ace rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, wanting to hold her to the earth so she didn't leave them. As his arms wrapped around her desperately, she burst into tiny orbs of light, that began to float into the air and disappear from their sight.

"No, not again." Sakura cried, dropping to her knees and sobbing loudly.

Once again Crystal had risked her life to save them. And once again, she did her best to leave them with a smile. It took awhile for people to leave, and then they had to remember the reports that had staid hidden behind the shore all this time. The hardest to make leave was Ace as they finally had to drag him away and to his room, but even then he stared lifelessly at the floor as he sat on the edge of his bed.

The news spread out quickly as the Marine's left the pirates, a silent agreement that they would leave one another alone for awhile. The news showed the battle of Akito versus pirates and Marines, and the result ending in defeat. Screens were displayed all around the world as the recording was shown to everyone. The last part showing Crystal disappearing with a smile to everyone. Sengoku had turned back to normal, and was once again throwing every Marine to catch pirates and law breakers; as if nothing had happened.

Three weeks went by as everyone tried to get back into their normal schedules. Most pirates left Whitebeard and his crew, going on their own journey's once again. The Whitebeard pirates, strawhat's, Rayleigh, shanks and his crew, Jinbei, Iva, and Crystal's family still remained on the ships. They helped one another grieve, but still could not return Ace to the way he was before.

"Come on Ace," Sakura pleaded tugging at his arm. "Let's get you some fresh air."

He looked at her and got up slowly, letting her tug him along towards the deck. He sat down in the middle of the deck on the front of the ship, letting the sun hit his back and warm it. His eyes were still lifeless and dull as he looked at the floor.

"Ace, you have to take care of yourself." Sabo said standing in front of him.

"It's my fault." He whispered. "It's all my fault. I should have stopped her."

Sabo sighed, knowing the man had been saying this since the day Crystal disappeared. It was as if it was the only thing going inside of his mind.

Arms came down and wrapped around his neck comfortingly. A chin hit his shoulder as a body pressed to his back slightly, but nothing hit the floor behind him. He didn't even flinch or move as this happened, his body numb and cold.

"I thought I told you not to blame yourself." A voice teased behind him from the body hanging onto him.

Ace jerked his eyes upwards as the people on the deck turned in surprise. Crystal floated there, with her arms around his neck and chest pressed to his back as her lower body floated above the deck. The wind died down and diminished as she landed on the deck softly, wrapping her arms around his neck gently, but lovingly. Shouts of surprise sounded over the deck, causing the others to hear around the ship.

Ace stood up quickly, jerking out of her grasp in confusion. "How…" He whispered, staring in shock at Crystal as she stood up slowly.

She smiled as she tilted her head and smile as everyone else walked up to see what the commotion was about. The dragons exploded out of her, standing next to her side by side as they faced the others.

"Return." She said gently to them.

The dragons returned to their masters, leaving Ryuuji and Shiro standing next to her with smiles. Shiro appearing with long white hair and golden eyes.

"How is this possible?" Whitebeard asked with a smile towards his daughter. "Are you trying to teach us a lesson or something? You keep dying and coming back!"

Crystal let out a guilt laugh as she scratched her cheek. "Well, you see. I was really disappearing, and as I was dying, Shiro," She indicated to the man with white hair next to her. "protected me and gave me more power. By the time he did that I had arrived in a heavenly place. Can you believe it? I ended up in heaven!" She let out a laugh, but noticed it wasn't helping the situation. "And well,"

She looked around the group and spotted Luffy giving him a thankful smile. "The rest I have to thank Luffy for."

Luffy pointed at himself with wide eyes. "Me?"

Crystal nodded her head at him and smile. "God said he owed you a favor. That he had watched the battle and knew you were my brother. He said he would settle his debt with you by sending me back to earth. To all of you."

She looked at all of them carefully, watching for anything that will show her that they no longer wanted her there. Ace started forward and wrapped her up into his arms, squeezing her till her bones felt like they might break.

"Ace, you're going to squeeze me to death." She joked around.

"I don't care. I'm not letting you go." He told her.

She looked at him surprised, before wrapping her arms around him and burying her head into his neck, breathing in his scent and relaxing in his touch.

"Does that mean you guys aren't mad? You guys will still allow me to stay here?" Crystal asked with a pleading smile.

"We're angry, just not over what you may think." Marco rubbed the back of his neck.

"Most of us are angry because we were so happy you came back to us, and then you left just as quickly again. It was almost as if you were playing with us." Thatch explained.

"I didn't mean to. Honestly. I thought I would make it through." She said desperately.

Sabo ruffled her hair and smiled thankfully down at her. "Of course we know that. It just hurt. You're still our family."

"Really?" She asked, water at the corners of her eyes.

"Really." Lily said smiling at her.

"You'll have to earn everything all over again tho!" Shanks laughed at her. "After all, it is a new life for you!"

Crystal smiled, nodding her head eagerly as she pulled back and looked at Ace. She looked at him questioningly, but couldn't get a word out as Ace pulled her face to his and kissed her deeply, sending her mind into a fog, and her body to react to his own.

"Don't you ever leave me again. You hear?" He said commandingly.

She nodded her head, trying to clear the fog as she gripped his hand on her cheek lightly. "Daisuke daiyou."

Ace smiled as he sat on the deck with her in his lap, hugging her close and not planning to let go any time soon. "I love you too."


	38. Explanation

**Hello! Everyone! I am not ending the story yet! I am still going strong! I have had some people message me and contact me about ways I can make it better, so I am changing some of what people see is wrong!**

**Don't give up one me yet! I am graduating soon and am about to start my summer job then college, so it will be a bit longer before I can update now! But do not give up on me yet.**

**I have had some minor complications with my story. I have randomly had one of my readers give me an email that my story is to be deleted in June. I have to revise it or have it permanently deleted, so give me time to do so. **

**I will write again, be rest assured!**

**Thank you my french fan! You have given me help on what I need to correct, and I'm glad you did so. I would much rather someone tell me politely what I can help in my story and ask my opinion as you did so, but not just judge, so thank you very much.**


	39. Big News!

**One Piece (C) Eichiro Oda. OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal, with the exception of Mayumi (C) chien16youkai**

**Here's the next chapter everyone! Sorry it took me so long! Here it is now!**

**R&R**

* * *

Crystal stretched her arms above her head, rubbed her eyes, and looked to her left at Ace who was still fast asleep, his arm still on her waist. He hadn't let her go since she came back a week ago, and didn't mind it at all. She felt bad for panicking everyone and making them feel as if they lost her for good. She also knew that they were wary of her now that they know she hid her plan from them since the beginning.

She moved his arm gently and slid out of the bed, letting the covers drop off of her bare body and to the floor. She remembered last night's events and couldn't hold the blush in as it crept across her face brightly. No matter how many times she did it with him, she never feels comfortable with herself. She walked into the bathroom, taking the time to freshen up before Ace wakes up and keeps her in reach once again.

She started the water and felt the warm water hit her fingers. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed, touch the inside of her shoulder blade as she traced the outline of the scars now there. When her wings burst through and taken all her energy, she had traveled to God with her wings at full length. He told her of what Luffy had done for him, and said that for repaying his and Skypea's debt, he would send her back to her family. He gave her the chance to continue to use her wings, but limited her power and what she could do. The scars were now there from where her wings come and go to remind her of the power she wasn't suppose to unleash and used against Akito.

She let her finger trace the scar again before turning around and face the mirror, looking at the finger length scar running between her breasts, where Takeru had thrust his sword through her, killing her the first time that day. She couldn't believe all that had happened, how many times she has died and been brought back to life. She knew that in a way she was useless and always needed help from others, but that never stopped her from risking her life and helping them instead.

She closed her eyes and leaned her hands on the sink, letting all her memories come back to her, thankful for everything everyone did for her, what they risked for her, and how they never left her side through all of it. They should hate her for all she had done, but they were so kind hearted that they never hated her for what she did.

A hand traveled across her shoulder, "What's wrong?" A kiss was placed on her shoulder as Ace moved around her.

She turned to him and opened her eyes, giving him a smile. "Just reminiscing."

He looked her up and down with a sly smile. "You trying to tempt me?"

She lifted an eyebrow, grabbing his hand and putting it on her hip. "You want to join me?"

He smirked as he lifted her up and carried her into the shower, letting the water pound on their skin and create a fog around them. He kissed her lips, lifting her up onto his waist, and gripping her butt to keep her up. He pushed her against the wall, feeling her skin beneath his fingers as he roamed over her body. She pulled back and kissed along his jaw, nipping on his ear seductively making him groan in pleasure.

He pushed his manhood against her opening, making her groan and grip his shoulders desperately. He bit her neck, sending a shiver along her body.

"Tease," She groaned, grabbing his face and pulling it to her.

His tongue delved into her mouth and wandered over her tongue, pushing it down and massaging it. His hand gripped her breast, pinching the nipple tantalizingly making it harden and perk beneath his hand. His thumb tweaked it before delving into the soft skin on her breast and rubbing circles into it. Crystal reached down and stroke his cock, making him grip her breast and make her gasp in surprise. He grunt as his hips moved under her, trying to get her to move on his shaft.

"Not so fast Fire Fist," She teased, whispering in his ear.

She moved her fingers along his shaft, before gripping it completely and moving her hand along it, feeling his balls hit against her hand as he thrust into her grip.

"Damn," He groaned into her shoulder, biting it softly, bringing blood to the top. His fingers brushing her scars on her back and making her suck in a deep breath from the electricity from it.

She felt his muscles twitch beneath her hand, coming close to the edge as she continued to stroke him. He came in her hand as he grunted and bit her shoulder again, making her moan in pleasure from the pain turned ecstasy.

He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. "You want to play that way huh?"

Crystal laughed at the look in his eyes, that of slight annoyance, but mainly of a cat who has found his prey to play with. She gasped loudly and threw her head back as Ace stroked her wet folds sending ripples to go through her body electrifyingly.

"Ace!" She gasped again as his finger dived into her and swirled inside of her.

His lips crashed over hers, silencing her gasps and moans, and added another finger, feeling her back arch into him as a moan thrummed in her throat, sending his heart racing. His eyes watched her every move, not wanting to miss a second of her reactions, faces, and noises. He nipped her bottom lip, tugging on it gently and letting his breath rush over her hotly. Her fingers gripped his shoulders desperately, her nails digging into her skin and bringing blood.

"How's it feel?" He chuckled, kissing her jaw down to her chest.

"Oh fuck," She groaned, pushing her hips into his fingers as he curled them inside of her.

"What do you want?" He asked her teasingly, using his other hand to tweak her nipples again, sending her into another gasping fit.

"f….me…." She groaned, her words cutting off by the electric waves going through her.

His fingers heated up inside of her, her breath coming out fast and heavy, and her body aching for more as he continued to move his fingers in and out of her, twist them, and curl them, finding every spot that she needed him to hit.

Her head hit the wall behind her as her walls clenched around his fingers, and her juices leaked over them, her body going into an ecstatic fit of pleasure as it rode its climax.

Ace kissed her lips, bringing her head forward towards his face. "We're not done yet."

He thrust his once again hardened cock inside of her, her walls stretching out and enveloping him tightly, evoking a groan form him in pleasure at the feeling of her around him.

"So tight," He grunted, pulling himself out and thrusting back in.

Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as her head leaned back and her hips tried desperately to keep up with his thrusts. His speed was almost inhuman as he pounded into her, pushing her walls and boundaries to the max.

"Oh, Ace," She moaned, kissing his jaw, and then his neck.

His hand gripped her butt, as his other, gripped her shoulder, bringing her closer to him and helping her keep to his rhythm easier. He hit a bundle of nerves, making her open her mouth ready for a moan, when his mouth went over hers and silenced the loud moan ready to escape. He continued to hit those nerves, sending her closer to the edge the more he did.

"Ace," She groaned, pulling back from him and desperately grabbing at his back for a hold onto something.

Her coil tightened inside of her as he desperately pounded into her fast, having them both reach their climax together and ride it out, their juices mixing together and their bodies to ride in the wave of pleasure surrounding them completely.

She dropped her legs from around him and tried to stand up. Her legs buckled under her as Ace caught her and pushed her against the wall of the shower; the water still beating down on them.

He smirked at her. "Careful there,"

"Shut up," She told him playfully, knowing he knew what he did to her when they had sex.

She scrubbed herself quickly, feeling the soap take out any dirt and grime that clung to her, and laughed as Ace did her back for her. He finished up after her, trying to get her to stay a bit longer.

"We're going to use all the hot water if we do." She argued with him in a teasing voice.

She dressed herself quickly before Ace could grab her and make her any more sore than she already was. She slipped out the door and ran towards her father, grabbing onto his neck as she jumped onto his back.

"Good morning Daddy!" She said, kissing his cheek lovingly.

"Thought you'd never wake up." He told her, flipping her over his shoulder and catching her in his hand.

"Yeah, we thought you'd be too sore to get up." Marco teased and laughed, before wincing from Sakura's pinch. "What it's the truth!"

Crystal blushed deep red as she looked at the crew on the deck and saw all of them nodding their heads in agreement and chuckling under their breaths.

"It's pretty quiet on the ship at night." Thatch told her, leaning on Marco casually.

Ace walked through the door and over to them, watching as Crystal curled into a ball as she covered her red face.

"What's going on?" He asked, crouching down to her and poking her shoulder.

"Oh just telling her what we heard last night." Marco said, sticking his tongue out at Ace.

"Surprised she can still stand after that." Sabo said, laughing loudly.

Ace smirked proudly as Crystal curled up even more and tried to hide from their knowing and teasing looks.

"There's a new mission I need a couple of you to go on." Whitebeard said suddenly, catching their interests instantly.

"What is it?" Ace asked excitedly, pulling Crystal out of her ball and on her feet next to him.

"One of the islands we protect is being bothered by other pirates. I need a couple of you to stay there for awhile and make sure these groups of pirates don't bother them any longer. They may put up a fight though." Whitebeard told them.

"I'll go," Ace said with a smile, ready to please Whitebeard and get out there again.

"Me too," Thatch said, raising his hand.

"I'll join," Mayumi said, jumping next to Thatch excitedly.

"I'll go too." Crystal said, smiling at her father.

"No, you are staying here." He told her sternly, making her flinch in surprise. "I'm not chancing your safety right now."

"He's right." Ace nodded his head, crossing his arms stubbornly as Crystal looked at him with confusion.

She opened her mouth to argue, but snapped it shut once she saw the stern look her father was giving her. She crossed her arms and let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll stay."

"I'll take her place." Sabo said, stepping forward with the group. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you can." Whitebeard told them with a nod.

"I'll pack some food for our trip, the rest of you can gather supplies." Thatch said, pointing and telling them what to do.

They separated instantly, getting what they need, excitement seeping from their skin as they rushed around. Ace passed by her and kissed her head, before continuing on to what he was doing. She noticed Sakura, Lily, Marco, and Whitebeard watching her, waiting for the argument she wanted to let out. She shrugged her shoulders and breathed out.

"I understand." She said. "But that doesn't mean I won't have fun while their gone." She told them, looking at Lily, and Sakura with a wink.

"I don't get to join?" Marco chuckled.

"We'll see," Sakura said, wrapping her arm around her sister's waist along with Lily as they walked away together.

About ten minutes later the group was prepared and ready to go, waving to the ship as they set off and headed towards the island needing help.

"How about we have a little fun." Crystal said with a mischievous smile.

The crew cheered as Crystal quickly cooked up food, brought out the sake, and played music over the ship loudly. Whitebeard shook his head and laughed as Crystal handed him another large bottle of sake.

"Hey, I am your daughter," She said shrugging her shoulders. "If I can't leave, I'll make it fun her on the ship."

"I don't mind!" Marco laughed, tipping back his sake.

Boris down a bottle and leaned against the ship, chuckling as Lily and Sakura danced with one another in no rhythm at all. He walked over to Crystal and held out his hand, bowing deeply to her. She let out a small laugh as she placed her hand in his and squealed as he twirled her around until she was dizzy before making her turn and sway.

The party went on for the rest of the night, until no one could stand up any longer, and belly's were full to the point of bulging. Most collapsed on the deck as Crystal walked around and sat next to Sakura and Lily who were hardly awake.

"I think you two drank too much," Crystal laughed, glancing at the two of them, leaning against the wall with pink tinged cheeks, and glazed eyes.

Crystal hadn't touched any of the liquor, knowing there had to be at least one sober person on the ship in case something happened; plus there was the fact that she felt queasy looking at the stuff. She sighed and leaned back, feeling the thump on her shoulder and another on her lap as she looked down at Lily fast asleep on her shoulder and Sakura nearly drooling on her lap.

"At least they're not doing something reckless." Crystal said, letting her eyes close and succumb to sleep like the others had.

Three weeks passed by as the group continued to stay on the island and send information to them about how the group of pirates had more help than they thought, but they could handle them easily. The villagers send their thanks and hope that Whitebeard could visit them again.

Crystal rolled out of bed, feeling her stomach turn the second she stood up. Heading to the bathroom she raced to the toilet and barfed into.

"Too much partying." She criticized herself.

She knew she was over doing it as her muscles ached, her head aches were getting worse, she felt nausea's, and wanted nothing to do but eat and sleep. She shook her head, ignoring the silent voice telling her to go back to sleep. She walked out of her room, holding her stomach and head, hoping it would help the head and stomach ache.

"Hey! Crystal! Mind helping clean up?" Marco smirked, holding a broom out.

She took the broom without arguments, making him watch her in confusion and worry. She swept up the trash and food left on the deck until it was in a pile, then leaned her head on the broom stick, feeling as if she would throw up again.

"And its only the morning," She grumbled to herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" Marco asked worriedly, placing his hand on her shoulder to get her attention and look at her.

"Fine," She breathed, lifting her head back up and looking around the deck for something else to do.

Marco wasn't convinced as her face paled and she swayed precariously on her feet, as if the whole boat was moving under her erratically.

"Come on," He told her, grabbing her elbow and taking her to Boris.

"I said I'm fine," Crystal said, not having the strength to fight against him.

He put her up on the examination table as if she were a child he was forcing to go to the doctor's office. Boris walked in wiping his hands and staring at the sudden visitors.

"How's the hangover?" Crystal teased, seeing his eyebrows furrow in irritation.

He ignored her, training his attention to Marco. "What's up?"

Marco pointed his thumb at Crystal. "She looks like she's about to hurl all over our clean deck."

"I told you I was fine." Crystal grumbled, leaning back on the bed despite her words.

Boris walked over and opened her eye, checking the pupils. He pressed a popsicle to her tongue and checked her mouth and throat. He rubbed his chin, trying to figure out what could be wrong with her. He check her pulse and breathing, then began pressing on her stomach and ribs, before pushing his fingers lightly on her lower stomach and hips. She sat up with a hiss and looked at him in irritation and confusion.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked him grumpily.

"Tell me, how long have you been sick?" He asked her, feeling along her stomach again.

"This week," She answered, taking in a breath to help the nausea.

"Have you eaten anything?" Boris asked, looking at her carefully.

Crystal nodded, "It seems all I want to do is eat and sleep."

Boris nodded his head, rubbing his chin in concentration. "And when was your last period?"

"What the hell man!" Marco shouted, red tingeing his cheeks.

Crystal went to argue against him too, when dawning appeared on her face of where he was trying to conclude to. "I'm not pregnant!" She burst out laughing, hitting the bed in laughter.

"Oh? When was it?" Boris said, quirking an eyebrow and lighting a cigarette.

"What? It was about…" Crystal stopped laughing as she thought back and counted the weeks. She leaned forward, putting her hand on her stomach as she stared at it. "No way,"

She looked up quickly at Boris with wide eyes and her jaw dropped. Boris let out a soft chuckle as he breathed out smoke and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Congrats." Boris said smiling at her and giving a wink. "You're about three weeks along."

"WHAT?" Marco said, smacking his forehead and running his hand down his face. "I can't believe it."

He looked at Crystal, and Crystal looked back at him, both staring at each other as if Boris just told them snails were coming out of her ears.

"Hey, Crystal, you in there?" Sakura said, peaking into the medical room, with Lily right behind her.

"Sakura, you won't believe it! Crystal's!" Marco began to say, turning around to face Sakura.

Crystal launched herself forward, grabbing Marco's mouth, and making them both crash to the floor in a heap.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, looking at the two on the floor with a suspicious look.

Marco licked Crystal's hand, but glared as she didn't move an inch. He grabbed her wrist and ripped it away from his mouth.

"Crystal's pregnant!" He said quickly before Crystal pushed his head into the floor.

Crystal looked at Sakura like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Sakura slowly opened her mouth, making Crystal shrink back and prepare for a hit on the head. Sakura screamed and tackled Crystal to the floor in a hug, wrapping her arms around her neck and rubbing her cheek on her sister's head.

"I'm so happy for you!" Sakura said loudly.

Crystal covered her mouth quickly and put a finger to her lips. "You can't tell anyone!" She looked up at Lily with a stern look, but the smile broke that. "You either. Got it?"

The both shook their heads furiously, looking at Crystal excitedly with big smiles beaming at her.

"How are you going to tell Ace?" Lily asked her excitedly.

Crystal rubbed her neck, not really sure. "I don't know."

Sakura put her index finger on her forehead, concentrating hard. She hit her fist in her palm and smiled. "That's it!"

Crystal looked up in surprise, staring at her sister. "What?"

"Our birthdays!" She said with a smile. "They already passed remember? We could have a party for that when the team comes back! Then you can tell Ace!"

"Not a bad idea," Boris said putting the butt of his cigarette out. "They should be back any day now."

"Break it to him easily, okay?" Marco sighed, rubbing his neck.

"You sound as if it's going to be a bomb on him." Crystal said with a giggle.

"He's a pirate! A twenty year old pirate at that. It's going to be shock to him." Marco explained.

"I know," She said with a groan.

"Let's go!" Sakura said, grabbing Crystal and pulling her up before dragging her out of the room.

They quickly spread out, telling everyone what they were going to do. Everyone was happy enough for the sole fact there was going to be a party again.

Three more days went by with Crystal hiding her secret with Marco, Boris, Sakura, and Lily. They started to get the supplies for party ready, and waited for the team to get back.

"Oi! We're back!" Ace yelled, jumping onto the deck, the afternoon sun dipping down behind him.

"Welcome back!" A few yelled on the deck, waving their hands, and walking up to the team and welcoming them with high fives, pats, and bumps.

"Ace!" Crystal shouted, running towards him and jumping into his arms.

"Hey!" He laughed, spinning her around. "You're excited."  
"We're throwing a birthday party for me and Sakura!" She said with a big smile.

"That's right, you're eighteen now." He said, kissing her forehead and setting her down. "So when's the party?"

Crystal turned and looked back at Whitebeard, lifting up her thumb towards him. Lights beamed behind him and streamers came out.

"Right now!" She shouted, arms up into the air.

"I didn't even get you a present!" He said with a chuckle.

She shrugged her shoulders, grabbing his hand and tugging along. "Come on!"

"Hold up!" He laughed, grabbing her hand and making her slow down. "I said I didn't get you a birthday present, that doesn't mean I didn't get you a present."

He stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and slipped a light blue jeweled ring on her right hand ring finger. He let go of her hand and smiled as she held it up and stared at the ring with wide, bright eyes.

"It's so pretty!" Crystal gasped, looking at it with a sparkle in her eye. She looked up at Ace with a bright smile, before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. "Thank you so much!"

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close feeling her chest push into him and making him smile victoriously. She let him go and grabbed his hand, pulling him along towards the tables of food sitting on the side of the ship.

"What about the birthday cake?" Thatch asked the others as he munched on a meat leg.

"Well, we had Crystal make it." Jozu said with a guilty smile.

"Making the birthday girl make her own cake?" Mayumi laughed, looking at Crystal as she laughed at them.

"It was fun! I got to try and experiment with how big I could make it!" Crystal told them with a prideful smile, clenching her fists in front of her.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Jozu said loudly behind her, making her jump.

"Thank's Jozu!" She said laughing.

"Yeah, thanks!" Sakura said, grabbing her sister's hand.

They clasped hands together and smiled identical smiles at one another, before looking at everyone. "THANK YOU EVERYONE!"

Everyone else looked at one another before nodding their heads in agreement. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRYSTAL AND SAKURA!"

"Let's start this party!" Crystal shouted, jumping into the air.

Music played on the deck as Sakura and Crystal ran out to the middle and danced with one another; swinging their hips, putting their hands in the air, and stepping here and there with the music. Slowly the others began to join them, making their own moves as the music became faster or slower, but they all had a great time as they let themselves do what they wanted.

"You going to tell him?" Sakura asked as Crystal and her grabbed drinks.

Crystal nearly choked on her drink as she glanced at her sister. "Not yet," She said, her stomach clenching on itself. She furrowed her brows and looked at the drink. "This has alcohol in it."

Sakura leaned forward and smelled the punch bowl. "Someone spiked the punch!" She laughed, then looked at Crystal and saw her shake her head.

"I'm going to go grab a drink." She told Sakura. "I'll tell him later, I promise!"

She ran to the kitchen, going through all the sake and alcohol, and finding a bottle of water that she guzzled down quickly, making her stomach relax. She sat down on a stool and leaned on the counter, thinking of how she was going to tell Ace. It seemed easy when they first planned it, but now there was everyone with them, and he just got back from a tiring mission; she didn't want to stress him.

She shook her head, and finished the water, throwing the bottle in the sink before walking out of the kitchen. She found everyone sitting on the deck, tired from the dancing and partying, talking and telling stories. Crystal sat down next to Ace and leaned back on her hands, listening to the conversations and stories going around.

"So tell us Crystal, how was Ace when he was younger?" Vista said with a smirk.

"Ace? He was a brat!" Crystal laughed, watching as Ace narrowed his eyes playfully at her. "He hardly smiled, and always acted as if he was angry about something. He was always taking on too much at once, making his life stressful."

"I bet you added to that stress huh?" Marco teased.

"She did!" Sabo agreed, laughing as Ace nodded his head. "She was always so clumsy and falling over, we couldn't let her leave our sight!"

"Hey!" She laughed, throwing an empty can at him, which he ducked from.

"That's why these two were so great together!" Sabo said with a chuckle. "Ace was always looking to protect someone, and Crystal always needed protecting. It's like they were made for one another."

Crystal leaned forward, putting on an irritated smile as she looked at him. "Come on, I'm waiting for the wise crack."

"There isn't one." He told her, leaning forward himself and smiling. "I'm honestly surprised you two didn't get together before all that happened."

"Well, we were all family, it's not like I could change that so easily in my head." She said, sighing and leaning back.

"You had to change how you acted around him." Lily said with a knowing smile.

"As if that was any different," Sakura joked, bumping her sister in the shoulder. "So any plans for kids soon?" She looked at Ace, making Crystal tense next to her.

"Kids? Yeah, I want them." Ace said with a smirk, finishing his sake and setting the cup down.

"Little Ace's? That'll be a living hell!" Jozu joked.

"It'd be too dangerous for kids to be on the ship!" Vista agreed, laughing along with them.

"They're right," Ace said shrugging. "I want kids, but not while I'm a pirate and on the ship. It would be too troublesome to have them now."

"Why not? I'd be happy for some grandchildren!" Whitebeard laughed.

"Oyaji!" Ace shouted with a laugh. "I don't have any time for kids right now. They would just cause problems."

Sakura and Lily sucked in their breaths silently, looking at Crystal as she sat frozen in her spot, looking at the sky blankly.

"Hey Ace!" Thatch said, tossing him a meat stick.

Ace caught it in his mouth and stood up and draped an arm around Thatch's neck, smiling at him thankfully. Crystal stood up quickly and walked off without a word, slipping away from everyone without their noticing.

"Crystal!" Sakura said quickly, standing up and following after her.

Lily and Marco got up also, following Crystal until she stopped at the back of the ship. Sabo looked on curiously at the crowd following after her, standing up and sneaking after them quietly.

"Crystal, he didn't mean that." Sakura said, touching her sisters shoulder.

"He meant every word," Crystal said, her voice cracking.

"I told you it would probably be hard on him." Marco said.

"Shut up," Lily snapped at him.  
Sabo flinched from the sudden command from the usually quiet girl. He looked at Crystal closer, and saw her holding her stomach protectively. His eyes widened in realization and he walked out of the shadows towards them.

"You're pregnant." He said suddenly, saying it out loud to himself to confirm it.

Crystal snapped her head up, looking at Sabo with wide eyes that looked worried and slightly fearful. "You can't tell him!"

"He needs to know Crystal!" Sabo said, opening his arms to her and taking a step forward.

Crystal retreated away from him until her back was against the railing. "You heard what he said. He doesn't want children right now."

Sabo opened his mouth to tell her she was wrong, but that was exactly what he said. Now he understood why she went so still when he called children a 'problem' and 'troublesome'. He softened his gaze and stepped forward, wrapping her into a comforting hug.

"We'll figure this out." He said smoothly, glancing at Lily for any help.

Lily gave him a soft smile and nodded her head, helping Crystal out of his hold and to the side of the ship where she could get the wind into her face and cool off. Crystal coughed suddenly into her hand and leaned over the ship, letting the contents of her stomach go into the sea.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, kneeling beside her sister who hit the deck of the ship with her knees.

"I don't know," Lily said, rubbing her back as she cough. "Sabo! Go get Boris! But be quiet about it!"

Sabo nodded his head and walked quickly to the front of the ship, looking for Boris, but avoiding Ace at the moment so questions wouldn't be asked. He found the doctor drunk on the side of the ship, singing some made up song as he danced. He grabbed Boris and dragged him to the back of the ship.

"Hey, hey! What d'ya think yer doin'?" Boris asked, glaring at Sabo.

"Something's wrong with Crystal and the baby." Sabo said, showing him Crystal kneeling on the deck.

It was as if Boris sobered up suddenly as he rushed over to Crystal and lifted her up, setting her against the wall of the cabins, back to the front of the ship, and her face facing the back of the ship. Boris looked her over, and pushed on her stomach a bit, watching as she winced at every touch.

"It's the stress. It's putting pressure on your body, and by doing so, putting pressure on the baby. You're body is trying to protect the baby by making your body take full pressure." Boris said. He grabbed her face, making her look at him. "Listen to me, you need to breathe deeply. In and out. In and out. In and out." He repeated, watching as she took deep breaths and started to relax. "Good. Lily go get me a cool rag. Sabo go get me some meat from the front. Sakura a cold drink. And Marco, go get the ice cubes from my refrigerator in the medical room."

They all nodded and set off to grab what he told them to. He dabbed the cold rag on her face as he had her drink at the water Sakura brought. Sabo came over with some meat, and ripped them into small pieces once Boris told him to. They fed her some small pieces of meat, watching as she winced less at the pushing on her stomach.

"Good, now let the ice melt." Boris said, popping a small ice cube into her mouth.

"What will that do?" Sakura asked, watching her sister roll the ice cube in her mouth.

"It'll take her mind off of the stress, cool her insides, and there's a little sugar in them to help agree with her stomach." He told them.

Crystal gave them a small thankful smile as she swallowed the melted ice. "Thanks, I feel better now."

She reached her hand out, and Boris helped her up, hearing an audible sigh from the group there with her.

"You have to make sure the baby stays healthy. That mean's keep stress to a low level." Boris told her sternly. "It's a crucial moment in the baby's formation right now, so you have to take care of yourself."

Crystal nodded her head at Boris. She placed her hand on her stomach, looking down at it like a mother would. "I'll take care of the baby no matter what anyone says."

A crash was heard to the side, making the others look over quickly and freeze. Ace stood there with wide eyes, and jaw dropped as he looked at Crystal and her hand on her stomach. Her words going through his head and the meaning forming.

"You're…..you're…" He swallowed hard, taking a step forward. "Pregnant?"

Crystal clenched her jaw shut, worried on what he would do now and what he would say. "Ace…"

The others stepped back, knowing the two of them would have to solve it themselves. But kept a wary eye close by for if Crystal got over stressed again.

"Is that what that conversation was about?" He asked, stepping close to her.

Her mind was telling her to back up, but her feet were planted firmly to her spot as she looked at the ground and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"You knew?" He asked her, trying to get her to talk. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Crystal looked up at him irritated. "I was going to tell you a few minutes ago, but you said that children right now would be a problem! That it would be too dangerous and would be troublesome!"

He looked down at her in shock as her eyes threatened to water at her anger and hurt.

"Crystal," Boris said warningly. "Remember, stress needs to stay down."

He walked over and grabbed Crystal's shoulders, bringing her over to them as she breathed deeply again. Boris stopped Ace from coming closer to her.

"She can't deal with the stress right now Ace, it's bad for the baby. She doesn't need anymore." Boris told him gently, trying to get Ace to understand.

Ace pushed past him and straight to Crystal. "You think I would leave you and the baby if I knew?" He asked her seriously.

"Why not? You're a pirate, you don't have time for children." Crystal said stubbornly.

"Who said that?" Ace said, raising an eyebrow.

"Marco," She grumbled, looking away from Ace.

Ace glared at his phoenix friend, making him back up and hold his hands up in surrender. He turned his attention back to Crystal. "Listen, I would never have left you even if you weren't pregnant. You're pregnant! With my kid!...It is my kid right?" He asked quickly.

Crystal could help but let out a laugh as she slugged his arm. "Of course! Who else could it have been?"

"Oh, I don't know, I could have been Jozu, or Vista, or Marco…." Ace went on jokingly.

Crystal laughed, making him smile and cup her face in his hands lovingly.

"When I said those words, you being pregnant didn't even come as an option. If I had to give up this life to be with you and the kid, then I would." He told her, laying his forehead on hers. "I'm overjoyed about this!"

He lifted her up and spun her in the air kissing her lips fiercely before holding her in front of him, barely off the ground. Her face beaming with a smile as her heart fluttered with joy.

"There's only one question left." He said.

"What's that?" She asked with a giggle.

"Will you still let me be the father?" He asked with a smile.

She leaned down and kissed him, giving him his answer that he needed, and making the others smile in reassurement at the couple.

"Come on!" Ace said, grabbing her hand and running off.

The others followed them and watched as Ace stood in front of the cabin door, waving his arms in the air.

"EVERYONE!" He shouted, catching their attentions on the deck.

"Ace," Crystal said, her eyes bulging out of her head, as she tried to cover his mouth.

"CRYSTAL'S PREGNANT! AND I'M THE FATHER!" He smiled proudly as everyone stared wide eyed at the small blonde girl desperately trying to get Ace to shut up.

Cheers and congratulations burst out over the deck to her, making her blush and smile at them. She looked at her father and saw him laughing proudly and giving her a smile.

"Oh, and one more thing." He said, making everyone shush.

Crystal looked at him confused, wondering what else he could be telling them. She covered her mouth in surprise as he got down on one knee, and pulled out another ring, but this one edged with diamonds all around.

"Crystal Hikari Hijiri, will you marry me?" He asked her.

Her smiled almost broke her face in half as her heart burst inside of her. "YES!" She said excitedly, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

He stood up with her still kissing him, pulling her as close to him as he could. Cheers and cat calls were sounding behind them as everyone watched the scene of romance happening before them.

Ace broke away and looked at Whitebeard. "So will you accept this?" He asked their captain hopefully.

"My son marrying my daughter? And having a kid with her?" He asked in a deep voice, but was betrayed as a smile cracked his face. "What isn't there to not accept? I'll be a grandfather!"

Crystal laughed as she ran to her father and hugged him, letting him touch her stomach with a proud smile.


	40. Wedding

**One Piece (C) Eiichiro Oda. Mayumi (C) Chien16youkai. All other OC's (C) HikariNoTenshi-Crystal**

**Hey everyone! Check out my deviantart page at TenshiNoCrystal**

**I have drawings on there for this story and my other ones! Including OC's! I would like it if you could look at them and review!**

**ENJOY! R&R**

* * *

"You know, when I heard that Ace and Crystal were having a wedding, I thought Ace had finally lost his mind," Shanks said with a laugh as he drank sake with Whitebeard, both of them sitting on the figurehead of the Moby Dick, watching the ceremony be set up. "No one had told me she was alive and back."

"I think most of the people that came thought the same thing," Whitebeard laughed heartily, taking another swig.

"To think they're having a child too," Shanks sighed, looking at Crystal as she laughed and ran around with Luffy hot on her heels; his arm stretching out and wrapping around her as he pulled her close into a hug. "They grow up so fast,"

"That they do," Whitebeard said, smiling at his daughter lovingly, his eyes warming at the thought of her being happy now.

"Is it going to be alright? To have a child on the ship? At sea?" Shanks asked Whitebeard, glancing at him. "She's showing a bit,"

Whitebeard looked at his daughter closely and smiled, seeing the very slight bump of her stomach as she turned and waved at them. He waved back and smiled brightly at her. "She is two and a half months in now. Ten weeks pregnant."

"Surprised you got the wedding ready so fast?" Shanks chuckled, setting his empty bottle down.

"We're pirates!" Whitebeard laughed loudly. "We can do anything!"

"She looks happy," Shanks stated, watching Crystal brighten as Ace walked over and kissed her; Luffy laughing in the background and he pushed them together more.

"It's good to see her smile like that," Whitebeard said, "Took me weeks to make her smile like that, but Ace made her smile like that in a couple days. He was meant for her."

"You're just happy you're a grandfather now," Shanks joked, pushing Whitebeard playfully.

Whitebeard and Shanks laughed with one another, thinking of how Whitebeard would be as a grandfather, and how others will die seeing him like that.

"DADDY!" Crystal yelled with a smile, waving her arms in the air.

"Time for you to go help," Shanks said, pushing him again slightly towards her.

Whitebeard chuckled before jumping off the ship and walking over to his daughter; picking her up into his arms and towards the dressing rooms where she is going to put on her dress.

"Just remember, I'm going to take longer to change." She reminded her father before stepping into her dressing room.

Whitebeard smiled and walked into the one across the hall to change into his white Tuxedo, with a silver tie. He waited in the hallway, watching as Lily, Sakura, Akira, Mayumi, Nami, and Robin all passed through into Crystal's room. Finally the girls exited out of the room in short light blue dresses that ended lower thigh, and was strapless.

Whitebeard sucked in a breath as Crystal walked out in a white strapless wedding dress. It's style was a corset on top, but a ball gown bottom; a bow rested on her lower back connecting the corset back with the ball gown bottom, and the back of her dress dipped down to her lower back in the dip. Sleeves covered just below her shoulders and to her wrists. Her hair was down and slightly curled on the end. An icy blue veil with light blue edging on her head, flowing down past her in a train.

"How do I look Daddy?" Crystal asked shyly as she walked over to her father.

He moved his finger in a circle, making her smile, pick up her train on the veil and spin slowly for him. His smile broke his face in half as he watched his daughter brighten in joy and excitement.

"You look beautiful," He told her, tipping her chin up slightly with his finger to get a look at her bright blue eyes with the light make up covering her face.

A slight blush was on her cheeks to give a pink feeling, and light bronzing powder was brushed on her cheeks and around her eyes, giving her the glowing look. A light blue shadow was put on her eyelids, making her eyes seem wider and brighter, and made her dark eyelashes seem all the more longer and darker. And a light pink lip gloss shined on her lips as she smiled at her father with warmth.

"You ready?" Sierra asked excitedly.

Crystal placed her hand on her stomach and let out a deep breath, looking at all of them with a shaky smile. "Nervous," She admitted.

"Has he started moving?" Nami asked, looking at her stomach.

She looked at Crystal as she held her hand up, and smiled as Crystal nodded her head, letting her know she can touch her stomach. Nami placed her hand over her belly button, trying to see if there is any movement.

"I haven't felt any yet," Crystal told her. "But I heard you don't until about 16 weeks in."

"Ah, too bad. I wanted to feel it." Nami said, pouting as she took her hand off Crystal.

"I'll let you know when the baby starts moving," Crystal laughed.

"When **he** starts moving," Nami said, exaggerating the 'he'.

Crystal giggled as she looked at the girls who were smirking at her too knowingly. "I know, I know. Ace _really_ wants to have a boy."

"I bet it's a girl," Sierra said with a smile. "It's been such an easy pregnancy."

"I wouldn't say easy," Crystal sighed. "I feel nauseous easily."

"Well, tell the baby not to make you puke during the wedding," Lily laughed, crouching down to her stomach and feeling it for herself. "You hear that little one? Let's make this wedding the best for your mama and papa."

Music started outside the building, making Crystal's heart beat erratically. She breathed in deeply before letting it out as slow as she could, hoping it would calm her down a fraction.

"Let's get started," Robin said with a reassuring smile.

The girls began to walk towards the ceremony, with Crystal right behind them. Crystal peaked through the building door as the girls paired up with their partner. Linking their arms through the others and picking their chins up with smiles on their faces.

Sierra and Marco went first, then Lily and Sabo, Nami and Luffy, Mayumi and Thatch, Akira and Tadao, and finally Robin and Zoro. Crystal turned as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Whitebeard smiled at her, reaching his hand out to her and letting her grab it thankfully. They walked out the door and waited for the bridal music to start; her nerves zinging with excitement and nervousness inside of her.

"Breath," Her father told her calmly.

Crystal smiled as she breathed in and out; lifting her chin and closing her eyes as her father lead her towards the ceremony. He patted her hand, making her open her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at all the people watching her. She spotted Shanks and his crew, DanDan and the mountain bandits, the StrawHat pirates, Trafalgar Law and his crew, all of the Whitebeard Pirates, Rayleigh, and watching her with smiles is Coby, Garp, and Takeshi, and her whole family was sitting there in the front, with big smiles on their faces.

She felt like her heart was going to pump right out of her chest as she looked at all the people. She gripped her father's hand, trying to find something to calm her down. She looked straight ahead, hoping to block out some of the nervousness from having people watch her. A sudden calm overcame her as she spotted Ace standing at the end of the aisle.

Ace felt like he couldn't breathe; his breath was sucked out of him the second she walked out into his sight. Seeing the pure white wedding dress on her, he knew that this was no dream; this was going to be binding them together forever. Seeing his father holding her hand and leading her down the aisle as the music played made him so happy and thankful. It was as if all there was now was her walking towards him.

As she reached the end of the aisle, she smiled at Whitebeard and gave him a kiss on the cheek, happy he was there to give her away. Her father, the one who took her in and adopted her into his family; who gave her another chance at life, was finally giving her away to the man she loved.

Ace watched as she reached out her hand to him, and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and keep her there. Instead he grabbed her hand and pulled her up towards him, holding her hands in his as they stared at one another lovingly.

They both only caught bits and pieces of what the minister was saying. They agreed and repeated after him on what they should say, but it was if their minds weren't concentrating on anything but the one standing in front of them.

Crystal vaguely remembers hearing the minister asking if any argue against this marriage, and Garp punching Takeshi to the floor. When it came time to say their vows it seemed like her mind froze up.

"Crystal," Ace said, snapping her out of her frozen state. "Since the day you arrived in Fuusha Village, I couldn't keep my eyes away from you. You looked like an angel that arrived to change us." He smiled, seeing her cheeks pinked. "The first day I got you to smile, I knew I had to protect that smile of yours; to make sure no one took that away from you. That smile could brighten any mood and any room. Your personality could change any person….it even changed me." He let out a small embarrassed laugh. "I fell in love with who you were. We didn't get together until some close calls, but we were always with one another. We pulled through everything thrown at us, and made it through in the end. With each other we can do anything. If you let me, I will always be by your side and love you," He stopped and looked down at her belly. "Along with the children we'll have. We'll be each other's family and continue our life to the best we can together. I loved you before, I love you now, and I will love you forever."

Crystal had to keep the tears from falling as she smile and gripped his hand, feeling him squeeze back lovingly. Ace was proud to see tears forming in the corners of her eyes for once, knowing she could feel his feeling in the vow. She swallowed and smiled at him, bringing up her courage for her turn.

"Ace," She said, feeling her heart fill with joy at his name. "When I first met you, I couldn't believe you were the grandson of Garp. Seeing you, I thought you were going to be like any other person I had met before." She said, remembering their past. "Honestly, you scared me at first. But even though you hardly smiled, and it was hard to get you to open up, I knew that I felt safe with you, that I didn't have to worry about anything while you were there." She could feel her nerves relaxing the more she talked. "That feeling never changed. Staying next to you through my life, and even sailing out to sea with you; not once did I feel like it wasn't worth being with you. I had fallen for you hard, not when I first met you," She said honestly, making him start. "But I fell in love with you from when DanDan didn't want to accept me, and you treated me as if I was a person. You protected me and tried to make me happy. You outstretched your hand to me and smiled. It couldn't have made me happier." She could feel the tears building in her eyes. "I decided that no matter what I would stay by your side. I would have been happy with just that, so think of my joy when I found out you felt the same way about me as I did you. That joy grew even more when we grew closer even more." She stopped and placed one of her hands on her stomach. "Then to find out that I was pregnant, I was confused, worried, and scared all at the same time, yet I was ecstatic that it was our kid." She looked up at Ace, seeing the love in his eyes as he stared at her. "My love for you has grown all this time, and has never stopped. I loved you then, I love you now, and I will always love you."

Sierra walked up and held up the rings that were made of gold, his a plain band with her name across the top, and hers was a band with small diamonds edging it on top and bottom with his name in the middle. They thanked her and placed the rings on each other's hands.

"You may now kiss the bride," The minister said.

Crystal smiled widely as she launched herself at Ace, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his lovingly. Feeling his arms go around her waist as he kissed just as fiercely back. Cheers erupted around them as they pulled apart and looked at everyone who was standing up and clapping.

"Starting anew." She said to Ace with a smile, putting her forehead on top of his.

"A new life." Ace agreed, kissing her lips quickly before pulling back again and smiling at everyone else, lifting Crystal up with one arm.

Whitebeard walked up and smiled at the two of them. "I'm so happy for you two." He hugged each one of them before looking at them with a proud smirk.

"What?" Ace laughed, raising an eyebrow at his father.

Whitebeard rustled in his pocket before pulling out to pieces of paper. He held it out to them, letting them take it in curiosity. They were two tickets to an island spa for three days.

"Daddy! This is awesome!" Crystal said, launching herself onto her father in a hug.

"I'm glad you like it. You need a good honeymoon!" He told them with a laugh.

A click was heard when a flash went off just as they turned. Lily stood there with a camera in her hands as she smiled at the father daughter moment.

"Time for some pictures!" She said excitedly.

Pictures were taken of Crystal and Ace; of them alone; of Crystal and Whitebeard; and with each and both of them with everyone individually; and finally they had one big group picture with everyone at the wedding.

"I think I'm going to change," Crystal said with a laugh. "The dress is going to get ruined if I stay in it any longer."

Crystal walked off towards the ship, stopping before it before realizing that there was no way she could get up there in the dress. She smacked her forehead and groaned. "How could I be so stupid."

She was lifted into the air suddenly making her squeak and grab the person. Ace laughed as he held her close.

"Hang on," He told her with a smirk.

He slowly climbed up the side of the ship as he held onto Crystal, making sure she didn't fall out of his grip. As they made it to the top she went into their room and pulled out a suitcase, packing a couple clothes for both of them while they were up there.

"Hey, Ace, unzip me will you?" She asked him, pulling her veil off carefully and folding it.

She placed the folded veil carefully on the bed before gathering up her hair and holding it up. Ace's finger trailed down her bare back before reaching the zipper and sliding it down to the bow. He untied the bow, releasing her from the dress.

Ace placed his hands on her hips, making her stand still as he leaned down and kissed the scars on her shoulder blades, making her suck in a breath and shiver. He moved around her and sat on the bed, tugging down the front of her dress until the dress slid off of her smoothly. He kissed the scar between her breasts and moved down, before pressing his ear to her stomach and pulling her close to him; his arms tightly around her waist.

He smiled suddenly and kissed her stomach. "Mrs. Portgas D. Ace." He said. Hearing that name made him smile and feel sudden joy at it.

"Oi!" Marco yelled on the ship, his footsteps thrumming across the deck.

Crystal sighed as she stepped back and pulled on her blue summer dress, tying it around her neck right before Marco opened the door.

"Good timing," Marco said with a smirk.

Ace knocked him in the head as the two laughed jokingly with one another. Crystal shook her head at them as she grabbed a pair of blue heels and slid them on.

"Everyone's waiting for you," Marco said with a jerk of his head towards the ceremony.

Crystal took Ace's hand and they walked back towards the ceremony. Ace stripped off his tie and opened his jacket and buttoned shirt as they walked there, turning more into himself.

"Trying to have fun before the honeymoon?" Sakura joked with them.

"Actually, I realized I couldn't get up the ship with that dress on," Crystal said rubbing her head.

The girls laughed as they looked at Crystal try to blow it off with a wave of her hand. Everyone soon was laughing at the mistake she made, seeing it as a normal Crystal move.

"So what do we do now?" Crystal asked, looking at everyone.

"You two," Marco said, pulling in the striker and tossing the suitcase onto it before securing it to the striker. "Are going to go on your honeymoon now."

"We just wanted to see you off," Mayumi said with a wave.

An arm wrapped around Crystal three times as Luffy hurled himself towards her, hanging onto her with a pout.

"I won't see you for awhile!" Luffy said pouting even more.

Crystal looked at Luffy over her shoulder and sighed. She pulled his face to her and kissed his cheek. "You'll see me afterwards. I promise."

"Let her go already!" Sabo laughed, pulling Luffy away from her.

"You two have fun," Rayleigh said, nodding his goodbye to Ace and Crystal.

Crystal smiled and hugged her father with thanks once more before walking over to the striker. Ace was already standing in it with his feet a flame, starting up the striker. She jumped onto the striker, hanging onto Ace as the striker spit water out behind it. She waved excitedly behind her towards the others, watching as they slowly shrank away.

Joy filled her as she looked at her hand lying on Ace's chest and the ring that now occupied her finger. She wiggled her finger a bit, watching as the ring shined in the sunlight. The ring meant the most important thing to her; it meant that her and Ace were forever together. It showed their love for one another and how much it meant to them.

"Ace," Crystal said turning to him more. He looked at her in wonder, and his eyes widened as she pulled his face down to her, locking her lips with his. "I love you,"

He tightened his arm around her waist, bringing her in front of him with her feet barely hanging above the fire. "Love you more," He said with a smile. He kissed her tenderly, licking her bottom lip and slipping his tongue into her mouth.

She moaned into the kiss, before pulling back and looking at him. "This would not be the ideal place to make a big fuss."

"I won't do anything," He chuckled, kissing her cheek lightly.

He held her up and placed a hand on her stomach, rubbing his thumb over the slight bump that was forming. Crystal swung herself to the front of the striker and sat down, giving Ace's arm's a rest and letting her feet dangle in the cool waters.

After a couple hours they made it to the island they were staying at. Ace tied his striker to the docks and helped Crystal off before leading her to the resort in the middle of the island.

"Welcome! You must be Ace and Crystal!" A man said walking up to them. "Whitebeard is an old friend of ours and we owe him greatly. When we heard that two of his crewmates were getting married we were much too excited to let you two stay here."

"Not very good business then?" Ace asked looking around the empty resort.

The man laughed as if it was some big joke. "Oh nonsense! We are usually packed! Whitebeard has reserved the whole island for the two of you alone."

Crystal's jaw dropped as she stared at the man in disbelief. "Daddy," She laughed, shaking her head.

"Oyaji definitely goes over the top." Ace said with a laugh also.

"Please feel free to do anything on the island. It is all free and is to your disposal." The man said with a bow before walking off.

Crystal looked at Ace with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. He did the same before taking her hand and running off to the first spa. They got massages that relaxed their muscles and sent them almost into sleep. Then they went into the sauna and let the heat rejuvenate them. Finally they headed towards the hotspring's in the back of the island.

"This feels so good," Crystal sighed as she hung onto the edge of one of the hotsprings.

"I have to admit, it wouldn't be as good if there was a full room." Ace said behind her, sitting back against the edge as he watched her.

They were in a small circular hotspring that went up to Ace's stomach when he stood. There were about a hundred different hotsprings in the room, all with different waters and temperatures.

Ace pulled Crystal from the edge and into his lap. His hand ran over her bare stomach as he kissed her neck.

"Is it too hot for the baby?" Ace asked, looking down at his hand through the water.

Crystal shook her head, leaning back against Ace and placing her hand over his. "It seems to be fine, but I probably won't stay in for too long."

"This has been the best day ever," Ace said, snuggling into her shoulder.

"Not going to be easy to top this day," Crystal said with a giggle.

"You never know," Ace said turning her and rubbing her stomach again.

He smiled and began to kiss her lovingly, pushing her against the side of the hotspring. She kissed him back, pulling him as close as he could be. This day was not one they would forget any day soon; this day marked the day that began their new life together.


End file.
